Qatar negotiating a 49% Stake in Rwandair

Group CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker has confirmed that the gulf airline is negotiating the acquisition of at least 49 percent stake in RwandAir, Rwanda’s national carrier.

Al Baker was speaking at the CAPA Qatar Aviation Aeropolitical and Regulatory Summit in Doha this Wednesday. 

“It is a 49 per cent stake that we are negotiating for in RwandAir,” Al Baker said. 

Yvonne Manzi Makolo, the Chief Executive Officer of RwandAir who’s in Qatar for the same conference confirmed to The New Times that indeed they were in the process of negotiation but she could not elaborate more about the deal.

“It is true we are in negotiation for Qatar Airways to take 49 per cent stake in RwandAir. I can only confirm that at this point,” Makolo told The New Times without revealing more details.

Makolo, however, believes once the negotiation process is done, the deal could give the national carrier a competitive edge in the aviation business both in the region and beyond.

“It’s great for an airline like RwandAir to partner with a world-class airline like Qatar Airways. There is a lot of synergies that we would tap into, and the potential for growth will be huge for the airline,” she noted.

The Qatar Airways boss told The New Times on the sideline of the conference that they were looking at finalizing the deal in less than six months, arguing that “we (Qatar Airways) are very tough negotiators.”

“We should be closing the deal in a not-so-distant future because this investment and the relationship between my country and Rwanda is very important. It should finish before the middle of this year,” he said.

The gulf carrier boss said they have already signed the memorandum of understanding with RwandAir with a few aspects of the negotiation remaining to fully complete the deal.

“We are only looking at small wordings of the contract … we should just be finished and we’ll make sure that Rwanda becomes an important hub in Africa,” he noted.

Al Baker said such an investment is based on the confidence the airline has in the country.

He mentioned Rwanda’s strategic location, political stability as well as the attractive business environment as some of the key aspects attracting them to make more investment into Rwanda.

According to Al Baker, there is also interest by Qatar Airways to invest in hotel (business) “because when you grow an airline, you will need accommodation for the staff, and you will need to bring in some specialized people or experts and you will need to provide accommodation for your cabin crew closer to the airport.”

The move, he added, is also expected to open up the Rwandan economy for other Qatari businesses, including paving way for opportunities for government institutions from Qatar to invest in real estate.

Qatar Airways already has made a substantial investment in airport infrastructure through Bugesera International Airport is being built in Bugesera District.

In December last year, in the presence of President Paul Kagame and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar and Rwanda signed three agreements that saw the two parties set up a joint venture to build, own, and operate the airport.

The first phase of the airport is expected to be completed in 2022.

Group CEO of Qatar Airways said such an investment is based on the confidence the airline has in the country adding that they have already signed the memorandum of understanding with RwandAir with a few aspects of the negotiation remaining to complete the deal.