Thursday, June 29, 2017

Debt biggest challenge for Air India's disinvestment

New Delhi: The Group of Ministers headed by Finance Minster Arun Jaitley will take a call on key issues that will make debt-laden Air India’s stake sale to private players more attractive.

The Ministerial group will consider hiving off Air India’s assets and a portion of its non-aircraft debt to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) as a first step toward clearing up its balance sheet.

“The Civil Aviation Ministry had proposed forming a SPV housing a substantial portion of its working capital loan and assets,” a senior ministry official said, on the condition of anonymity. “The sale of Air India’s prime real estate assets will help in meeting its liabilities,” the source said.

Air India has a total debt of around ₹52,000 crore which comprises of ₹22,000 crore as aircraft loan and the rest as working capital loan and other liabilities.

Some of its prime real estate properties include a building at Nariman Point and another at the old airport in Santa Cruz in Mumbai, freehold land in Chennai’s Anna Salai, an office in Baba Kharak Singh Marg in Connaught Place in New Delhi and freehold land and buildings in Hyderabad. However, the airline has mortgaged some of these as security with banks for availing loans.

The Government may also separately go for strategic disinvestment of Air India’s three profit-making subsidiaries: its MRO unit Air India Engineering Services Limited, ground handling arm Air India Transport Services Limited and Air India Charters Limited.
28/06/17 The Hindu
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