New Delhi: Jet Airways plans to more than double loan repayments to help attract investors after a default grounded rival Kingfisher Airlines.
India’s biggest listed carrier will pay $600 million (Rs 3,293 crore) of debt in the year ending March 31 and seek rupee loans with interest rates as low as 10 per cent, Chief Financial Officer Ravishankar Gopalakrishnan said in a November 5 conference call. The company, which pays as much as 14 per cent on some debt, is looking for ways to reduce borrowing costs as the nation’s central bank keeps its benchmark repurchase rate at eight per cent, the highest among major Asian economies, to curb inflation.
“In terms of raising additional equity, being able to reduce your leverage makes it more attractive for potential investors,” Binit Somaia, a Sydney-based director at industry Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa), said on November 8 by telephone.
Jet Airways must divest at least a five per cent stake by June to meet a rule capping founders’ holdings in companies at 75 per cent. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September allowed as much as 49 per cent foreign investment in aviation.
13/11/12 Bloomberg/Business Standard
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
India’s biggest listed carrier will pay $600 million (Rs 3,293 crore) of debt in the year ending March 31 and seek rupee loans with interest rates as low as 10 per cent, Chief Financial Officer Ravishankar Gopalakrishnan said in a November 5 conference call. The company, which pays as much as 14 per cent on some debt, is looking for ways to reduce borrowing costs as the nation’s central bank keeps its benchmark repurchase rate at eight per cent, the highest among major Asian economies, to curb inflation.
“In terms of raising additional equity, being able to reduce your leverage makes it more attractive for potential investors,” Binit Somaia, a Sydney-based director at industry Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa), said on November 8 by telephone.
Jet Airways must divest at least a five per cent stake by June to meet a rule capping founders’ holdings in companies at 75 per cent. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September allowed as much as 49 per cent foreign investment in aviation.
13/11/12 Bloomberg/Business Standard
