The loss making Kenya Airways shares have been suspended from trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) from today after a successful application.
The natinal carriers suspension was approved and issued by the Capital Markets Authority and will be in place for three months.
“Notice is hereby given on the suspension from trading of Kenya Airways shares. The company’s operational and corporate restructure and government buy-out is now imminent following the publication of the National Management Aviation Bill 2020 last month,” reads NSE’s statement.
Last year, the national assembly voted to accept a proposal to nationalise Kenya Airways to save it from the piling debts.
Kenya Airways is 48.9% owned by the governmentof Kenya and 7.8% held by Air France-KLM.
The carrier has been struggling to return to profitability and growth. It failed on an expansion drive and was forced to restructure $2 billion of debt in 2017 to save it from collapsing.
Transport Committee in the national assembly then recommended that the government should push out a consortium of local banks, KLM and other shareholders.
The committee led by Pokot South MP David Pkosing recommended the nationalisation of kenya-airways after failed attempts to revive it.
The National Aviation Management Bill, 2020 seeks to establish the National Civil Aviation Council that will be mandated to form a new outfit, Kenya Aviation Corporation (KAC), to run the national carrier.
KAC will hold the shares in the operating entities, including Kenya Airways, Kenya Airports Authority, and Aviation Investment Corporation.“The corporation will oversee and, where applicable, manage the operations of the group, including establishing centralised functions to be shared by the group such as promoting the development of the Kenyan aviation sector and advising the government on matters relating to the development of the sector,” reads part of the Bill.
Pkopsing report recommended the formation of a board where the government would have Kenya Airports Authority, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, KQ and a centralised Aviation Services College that will bring together institutes held by the three agencies under Kenya Aviation Holding Group (KAHG).
