Adani sets up UAE arm for global airport operations

Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates to carry out investment and acquisition operations outside India. 

Global Airports Operator LLC was registered in Abu Dhabi on 7 August with an issued share capital of AED 50,000 ($13,612). 

“GAO is incorporated for the purpose of making investment/acquisition for construction, operation, and maintenance of airports outside India,” Adani Enterprises Ltd said in a stock exchange filing. 

The company is yet to commence operations. 

AAHL, a 100% subsidiary of Gautam Adani-led Adani Enterprises Ltd, is India’s largest airport infrastructure firm, accounting for 25% of passenger footfalls and 33% of India’s air cargo traffic.

It currently manages seven airports—Mangaluru, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, and Mumbai—and is also developing the Navi Mumbai airport.

The company has been trying to expand its operations outside India. It has proposed to invest $1.8 billion in the upgradation of Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, and also plans to invest in two Vietnamese airports, Long Thanh and Chu Lai. 

In a separate development, Adani Enterprises is looking to raise around ₹10,000 crore ($1.2 billion) from an institutional share sale, Bloomberg reported, citing people aware of the plans. 

Seeking to raise funds through a so-called qualified institutional placement, or QIP, Adani is looking for institutional investors, including from the US, as part of its efforts to expand its shareholder base and draw more research analysts to cover the firm, the report said.