Authorities think about transferring airport to new owner of QazaqAir from Vietnam

The government is hoping that a foreign investor will improve the airport’s performance / Photo: Primeminister.kz, photo editor: Dastan Shanay

Vietnamese Sovico Group, which recently acquired 51% of shares in QazaqAir, may receive one more asset in Kazakhstan – an airport in the Kyzylorda region, according to Kazinform, citing Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Alibek Bakayev.

«We are leveraging advanced technologies and companies that could help us improve the work and service in our airports from both technological and administrative points of view. We are already negotiating with the Vietnamese. I mean, we are talking about the Vietnamese side managing an airport to improve its overall operations,» Bakayev said.

He clarified that the airport in question is located in the Kyzylorda region but didn’t specify which, as there are five operating airports in the region: in Kyzylorda, Aralsk, Zhosaly and two in Baikonur (Krayniy and Yubileyniy).

He also emphasized that the government isn’t planning to sell the airport. For example, Korkyt Ata Airport in Kyzylorda is managed by Airport Management Group, a subsidiary of Kazakhstan Railways, while still being owned by the local administration.

On May 6, Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin revealed that Sovico Group was going to acquire or take over management of one of Kazakhstan’s airports, but he refused to elaborate.

Before that, Samruk Kazyna CEO Nurlan Zhakupov announced the closure of the deal between the state-owned holding and Sovico Group on the acquisition of the controlling stake in QazaqAir. The airline has already been renamed VietJet Kazakhstan, as the Vietnamese VietJet is also owned by Sovico Group.

The government of Kazakhstan put QazaqAir up for sale in 2023 but failed to sell it due to a lack of investors meeting all the necessary requirements. For example, authorities wanted such an investor to pay off the airline’s debt to Samruk Kazyna of around $73.6 million.

Under the bidding requirements, a foreign investor couldn’t acquire more than 49% of QazaqAir shares, unlike domestic companies that were allowed to buy 100% of the stock. As a result, Central Asia Aviation Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Sovico Group, acquired 49%, while Kazasia Holdings Limited, a company registered with the Astana International Financial Centre and controlled by Tahir Pham, received an additional 2%. The deal totaled two billion tenge ($3.8 million), excluding the debt of $73.6 million that the investor is expected to pay off within several years. Sovico Group has also promised to buy 20 Boeing 737 Max or Airbus A321 aircraft and invest regularly in the development of the carrier.