THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA), CANADA, AUSTRALIA, SOUTH AFRICA OR JAPAN, OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

This announcement is not a prospectus nor an offer of securities for sale in any jurisdiction, including in or into the United States, Canada, Japan, South Africa or Australia.

Neither this announcement, nor anything contained herein, nor anything contained in the registration document issued by the Air Astana Joint Stock Company dated 12 January 2024 (the "Registration Document") shall form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any offer or commitment whatsoever in any jurisdiction. Investors should not purchase any securities referred to in this announcement or the Registration Document except solely on the basis of the information contained in the prospectus in its final form (together with any supplementary prospectus, if relevant, the "Prospectus"), including the risk factors set out therein, that may be published by Air Astana Joint Stock Company in due course in connection with a possible offer of common shares in the Company (the "Shares") and common shares in the form of global depositary receipts (the "GDRs", together with the Shares, the "Securities") and the possible (i) admission of the GDRs to the standard listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA") and to trading on the main market for listed securities of London Stock Exchange plc (the "LSE"); (ii) admission of the Securities to the official list of securities of the Astana International Exchange (the "AIX") and to trading on the AIX; and (iii) admission of the Shares to the "Premium" category of the "Shares" sector of the "Main" market of the JSC Kazakhstan Stock Exchange ("KASE") and admission to trading on the KASE. A copy of the Prospectus published by the Company will be available for inspection on the Company's website at www.airastana.com, subject to certain access restrictions.

9 February 2024

Air Astana Joint Stock Company

Announcement of Approval and Publication of Prospectus

Following the announcement of the offer price published earlier today in connection with the successful pricing of its initial public offering (the "Offering"), Air Astana Joint Stock Company (the "Company") confirms that the Prospectus has been approved by the FCA.

Details of the Offering are set out in the Prospectus, which will shortly be available on the Company's website at https://airastana.com, subject to certain access restrictions.

The Prospectus has also been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will be available shortly for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.

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Enquiries:

Notes to Editors

About the Air Astana Group

The Air Astana Group is the largest airline group in Central Asia and the Caucasus region based on market share. As of the date of this announcement, the Air Astana Group operates a fleet of 50 aircraft split between Air Astana, its full-service brand that operated its inaugural flight in 2002, and FlyArystan, its low-cost carrier established in 2019. 

The Air Astana Group provides scheduled, point-to-point and transit, short-haul and long-haul air travel and cargo on domestic, regional and international routes across Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Far East, the Middle East, India and Europe. In the year ended 31 December 2022, the Air Astana Group carried approximately 7.3 million passengers on approximately 52 thousand flights across 16 countries. The Air Astana Group successfully recovered at a faster rate post-COVID in comparison to global averages and generated a CAGR in revenue of 60.6% for the three years ended 31 December 2022.

In 2023, Air Astana was recognised for the eleventh year as the "Best Airline in Central Asia and CIS" at the Skytrax World Airline Awards and received a five-star rating in the major airline category by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX).

Important Legal Information

The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may be placed by any person for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy, fairness or completeness.

These materials are not an offer of securities for sale in the United States.  The securities to which these materials relate have not been registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration or in a transaction not subject to the registration requirements under the Securities Act.  There will be no public offering of the securities in the United States.

This document is being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (iii) persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order or (iv) persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons in (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) above together being referred to as "relevant persons"). Any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire securities will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.

In any member state of the European Economic Area, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in such member state within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation EU 2017/1129 (the "Prospectus Regulation") or the United Kingdom within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation as it forms part of assimilated UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (the "UK Prospectus Regulation"), and no person that is not a qualified investor may act or rely on this communication or any of its contents.

These materials and the information contained herein are being sent solely to the addressee and are for the sole use of the addressee. Neither these materials nor the information contained herein constitute advertisement or are intended for circulation to an unlimited circle of people. The addressee is solely responsible for determining whether the addressee is eligible to acquire or otherwise have an interest in the instruments offered pursuant to these materials and for compliance with Kazakhstan law.

This communication is an advertisement in any member state of the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom for the purposes of the Prospectus Regulation, and the UK Prospectus Regulation, respectively, and underlying legislation. It is not a prospectus. When approved and published, the Prospectus relating to the Securities will be available on the issuer's website at https://airastana.com.

This announcement may include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "plans", "projects", "targets", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", "forecast" or "should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. No representation is made that any of these statements or forecasts will come to pass or that any forecast results will be achieved. Any forward-looking statements reflect the Air Astana Group's current view with respect to future events and are subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Air Astana Group's business, results of operations, financial position, liquidity, prospects, growth and strategies. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.

In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events in the forward-looking statements may not occur or the Air Astana Group's actual results, performance or achievements might be materially different from the expected results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Jefferies International Limited, WOOD & Company Financial Services, a.s., JSC Halyk Finance, Freedom Finance Global PLC JSC BCC Invest, JSC SkyBridge-Invest and JSC Jusan Invest (together, the "Banks"), the Company or any member of the Air Astana Group, or any of such person's affiliates or their respective directors, officers, employees, agents or advisers expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update, review or revise any such forward-looking statement or any other information contained in this announcement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law. You are therefore cautioned not to place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. In addition, even if the results of operations, financial condition and liquidity of the Air Astana Group, and the development of the industry in which the Air Astana Group operates, are consistent with the forward-looking statements set out in this announcement, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. No statement in this announcement is intended to be a profit forecast.

There is no guarantee that Admissions will occur. Potential investors should not base their financial decision on this announcement. Acquiring investments to which this announcement relates may expose an investor to a significant risk of losing all of the amount invested. Persons considering making investments should consult an authorised person specialising in advising on such investments. Neither this announcement, nor the Registration Document, constitutes a recommendation concerning a possible offer. The value of securities can decrease as well as increase. Potential investors should consult a professional advisor as to the suitability of a possible offer for the person concerned.

Nothing contained herein constitutes or should be construed as (i) investment, tax, financial, accounting or legal advice, (ii) a representation that any investment or strategy is suitable or appropriate to your individual circumstances or (iii) a personal recommendation to you.

None of the Banks nor any of their respective affiliates and/or any of their or their affiliates' directors, officers, employees, advisers and/or agents accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for, or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to, the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information in this announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from the announcement) and/or any other information relating to the Company, the Air Astana Group or its associated companies, whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made available, or for any loss howsoever arising from any use of the announcement or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith.

Citigroup Global Markets Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulatory Authority and regulated by the FCA and the Prudential Regulatory Authority in the United Kingdom. Jefferies International Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom. WOOD & Company Financial Services, a.s. is authorised and regulated by the Czech National Bank in the Czech Republic. None of Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Jefferies International Limited or WOOD & Company Financial Services, a.s. will be involved in, and are not licensed or authorised to participate in, and will not be responsible for any aspect of, the possible Offering in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Each of (i) JSC Halyk Finance; (ii) BCC Invest JSC; (iii) SkyBridge Invest JSC; and (iv) Jusan Invest JSC is authorised and regulated in Kazakhstan by the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of Financial Market. Each of JSC Halyk Finance, Freedom Finance Global PLC and SkyBridge Invest JSC are regulated in the Astana International Financial Centre by the Astana Financial Services Authority. Each of the Banks will be acting exclusively for the Company and certain selling shareholders and no one else in connection with the possible Offering. The Banks will not regard any other person as their client in relation to the possible Offering and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company and certain selling shareholders for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients nor for giving advice in relation to the possible Offering, the contents of this announcement or any transaction, arrangement or other matter referred to herein. In connection with the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, the Banks may, at their discretion, undertake their obligations in connection with the possible Offering by any of their affiliates based in the EEA.

Certain data in this announcement, including financial, statistical, and operating information has been rounded. As a result of the rounding, the totals of data presented in this announcement may vary slightly from the actual arithmetic totals of such data. Percentages in tables may have been rounded and accordingly may not add up to 100%.

Unless otherwise indicated, market, industry and competitive position data are estimated (and accordingly, approximate) and should be treated with caution. Such information has not been audited or independently verified, nor has the Company ascertained the underlying economic assumptions relied upon therein.

For the avoidance of doubt, the contents of the Air Astana Group's website or any website directly or indirectly linked to the Air Astana Group's website, are not incorporated by reference into, and do not form part of, this announcement.