Saudi Arabia plans to invest SAR60 billion over the next five years to modernise and expand Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) said Saleh Bin Nasser Al-Jasser, the General Director of Saudia. The investment will also be directed to increasing the airline’s fleet to 200 aircraft by 2020 from 157, currently (according to a fleet tracking website cited by Reuters). On a another note, Suleiman Hamdan, Chairman of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GACA), stated that the authority is aiming to attract foreign investments in the coming five years through the issuing of a sukuk or through projects with global partners on a BOT basis. Investment opportunities may include investments in cargo, catering services or real estate investments on airport land through global tenders. Earlier in January, Saudia announced it was planning a SAR5 billion sukuk issuance in 2Q2016 or 3Q2016, to refinance its current debt portfolio and finance the purchase of new aircraft. (Argaam, Reuters, Bloomberg)