Dubai's state-owned Emirates airlines should privatise between 20 percent and 30 percent of its shares within the next two years.
Asked whether the firm would be offered for sale, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum said the sale has to happen in the next couple of years.
He said the airline may sell 20 percent to 30 percent of the company within the region, but from the day the government approves the sale, it will take the airline another year or two to launch the sale.
He said the company expected the shares to raise more than US$27 billion dollars.
The firm has a fleet of 114 aircraft flying to 99 destinations in 62 countries and plans to launch routes to a further eight passenger destinations this year.
He said the airline is investing $60 billion in aircraft acquisition and another $500 million in retrofitting of aircraft, opening new lounges, the new concourse and new facilities, adding that Emirates expected to take delivery of 22 aircraft within two years.
The firm owns a 43.6 percent stake in SriLankan Airlines, which it plans to sell for around $150 million dollars.
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