Lenders approve Air India debt rejig plan

Mumbai/New Delhi: Lenders to Air India have approved the financial restructuring plan, paving way for the government to bail out the stricken national carrier.
On Friday, the Reserve Bank had already approved a plan to reschedule the airline's debt which included an increase in tenure to 15 years from 10 years. The bank had asked the airline to meet its lenders along with SBI Caps for approving the plan.
But the approval from banks hinges upon the government's firm commitment to invest money into Air India. The government has already pumped in over Rs 3,000 crore into Air India over the past three years.
"The ministry has assured us that they will come up with a cabinet note in the next few days," one of the bankers after the meeting said. But the lenders, 13 banks in all, who have about Rs 26,000 crore of working capital loan exposure to Air India, will also go back to the Reserve Bank of India seeking clarifications on some regulatory issues that will need to be sorted out before the cabinet approves the bailout.
29/11/11 Economic Times

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Categories: Air India Nov 2011