Royal Air Maroc is on course for partial privatisation next year. The government, which holds a 94% stake, plans to sell 25% of the airline and to increase its capital by 15%. The move could see 40% of the flag carrier become available to private investors.
Maroc's senior vice-president strategy and international relations, Hamid Ben Brahim, says one option is a sale to a strategic airline partner. The likeliest candidates for this are Air France or Iberia, which already hold stakes of 3.5% and 1.3%, respectively. Rabat is also considering a flotation on the Casablanca stock exchange, an international market, or both.
The privatisation of the airline has been under consideration since 1995, but was postponed to allow the airline to restructure after several years of losses. RAM is planning to tender for 20 aircraft valued at about $1.5 billion for delivery by 2002. The carrier has a 31-strong all-Boeing fleet. It expects to get the go-ahead for the privatisation by the end of this year.
• The Saudi Arabian Government is to form a committee to oversee the privatisation of Saudi Arabian Airlines.
Source: Flight International
