The Serbian government has announced today that they will become 100% owners of Serbian national airline Air Serbia, as they are buying back the 16,4% stake from the Etihad Group.
Finance Minister Siniša Mali said that the state of Serbia will complete all the necessary paperwork today and take over the remaining share in Air Serbia from Etihad Airways.
"Air Serbia is the largest airline in the region. From a company that was in bankruptcy, we turned it into a leader that now flies on four continents, in a large number of countries, and we have become an example of how, through a successful airline, you can further contribute to the economic development of your country," he said. is Mali to journalists at the Ministry of Finance.
"He added that the state will pay full attention to the further development of Air Serbia and stated that the acquisition of large planes and the opening of new destinations will follow."
"I want to thank the people from Etihad Airways, who have been our partners and co-owners of Air Serbia since 2013. They are leaving Air Serbia because of their business decisions, and it is up to us to develop our company," Mali said.
Etihad Airways had signed an agreement with the government of Serbia in August 2013 to establish a strategic partnership between the two carriers involving a $200m investment plan. Etihad's initial $40m loan facility was converted into equity.
But, due to low market yields, Etihad Airways had to divest from all of its other equity partners over the past years, including Virgin Australia and Air Seychelles.
Under the leadership of Tony Douglas, who has been heading the company since 2018, the carrier’s focus was on returning to profitability following years of steep losses.
Mr Douglas previously branded the equity investments as “mistakes”, noting the company was part of a “failed quasi-alliance strategy”. Since 2018, engagement between Air Serbia and Etihad Airways was on a decline.
As of today, Air Serbia is 100% owned by Serbia, as the state of Serbia today completes the necessary paperwork and takes over the remaining share in Air Serbia from Etihad Airways.
The goal is for Air Serbia to fly to 100 destinations in 2027 It is true that our goal is for Air Serbia to have 100 regular and charter destinations in 2027, when it celebrates its 100th anniversary and when we organize the EXPO exhibition, Minister of Finance Siniša Mali said today and stated that the number of flights and the number of national destinations are increasing year by year.
"Air Serbia is one of the most successful stories that we have been telling in recent years, to the pride of all citizens of Serbia. EXPO is an extremely important event for all of us, an event that should contribute to the further growth and development of our economy, and the further positioning of our country as a leader in the region." , Mali told reporters at the Ministry of Finance, He stated that the EXPO goes along with the further construction of highways, high-speed railways, further improvement of the work of our national airline.
"We are doing all this in order to raise the quality of life of the citizens of Serbia in terms of salary increases, pensions, but in general our whole infrastructure is developing. We have done a lot in the last 10 years, there is still a lot of work ahead of us, but the EXPO is proof and a symbol of progress." , he said.
He is optimistic , as he added that in 2012, Serbia was on the verge of bankruptcy as a country, and in 2027, that is, 15 years later, it will be the center of the world with the biggest event.
According to his words, the organization of such an event can be a source of pride for all citizens of Serbia, and our country, country will do its best to be a real host to everyone and use the opportunity to further improve its economic performance.
Few years ago, Etihad had a 49% stake in Air Serbia, but it preferred to decrease its stake to 18% in December 2020 when the Serbian government stepped in to recapitalise the airline to the tune of 100 million euros to alleviate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Worth mentioning, in late August this year , Air Serbia issued 1.82 million new shares which were purchased by the government, further decreasing Etihad’s stake.
