Buddha Air to divest shares to fund expansion, potentially with B737 MAX 8s

Nepal's Buddha Air announced its divestment program, which will leave the airline owning 30% of equity, the public owning 30%, and the remaining 40% for strategic partners, according to the airline's managing director Birendra Bahadur Basnet.

The total capital figures were not disclosed.

The carrier is aiming to improve its efficiency and launch international destinations by 2020, which may include Guangzhou, Bangkok, Dhaka, India, Moscow, Seoul, and Japan.

As part of the expansion, the airline will lease two narrowbody aircraft by March 2020 to fly from Kathmandu to major Indian cities.

Following six months of the news international operations, the airline plans to issue an IPO, sometime in 2020, while simultaneously attracting strategic partners.

From August 2021, Buddha Air plans add two more jets and launch services from the new airport in Pokhara, once it's completed in July 2021.

Although undecided on the aircraft type, the B737 MAX 8 is under evaluation for its international operations.

The airline has no plans to convert its domestic operation into a public limited company.