Flynas Airlines (Saudi Arabia) enters the Ukrainian market with regular flights between Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.
The Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine said on Facebook that on May 31 a meeting was held between Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov and CEO of Flynas Bander Al-Mohanna.
“Each new flight is, first of all, new opportunities for development of business, tourism and Ukraine’s integration into world markets. That is why the increase in regular routes of direct flights is among the priorities of the ministry. We want Ukraine to become a major international air hub, and such steps make us closer to this goal,” Kubrakov said.
Previously, Ukraine did not have regular direct flights with Saudi Arabia. For the flight, a transfer was needed through Istanbul, Doha or Dubai.
Flynas is Saudi Arabia’s leading low cost airline with a fleet of 30 aircraft. The airline operates over 1,200 flights weekly to 35 domestic and international destinations. The airline has recently entered into an agreement with Airbus to purchase 120 new aircraft for a total value of $8.6 billion.
The Saudi Agricultural & Livestock Investment Co. (SALIC) is close to acquiring Mriya farming company in Ukraine, Bloomberg has reported, referring to its sources. “The U.K. unit of Saudi Arabia’s state-run Salic is nearing a deal to buy Mriya Agro Holding Plc… The acquisition would take the Salic-operated farming area in Ukraine to just over 200,000 hectares,” the sources of Bloomberg said. Mriya agroholding CEO Simon Cherniavsky declined to comment on the issue.
SALIC was founded in 2012. Its sole shareholder is the Saudi Arabian State Investment Fund. The company invests in the production of agricultural and livestock products. According to Bloomberg, SALIC in Ukraine manages about 45,000 hectares, which are adjacent to the farms run by Mriya.
The Saudi firm has shown a willingness to expand in recent years. In 2015, it joined U.S. agribusiness giant Bunge Ltd. to buy a majority stake in the former Canadian Wheat Board to create G3 Global Grain Group. In addition, SALIC was also one of the bidders for a 9.9% stake in Glencore Plc’s agriculture arm in 2016.
Mriya Agro Holding is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding founded in 1992 by Ivan Huta. Today, its land bank is 165,000 hectares. The capacity of its silos and grain storages is estimated at 380,000 tonnes.
