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Thai Airways gets nod from creditors for rehabilitation plan
by Arno Maierbrugger - Sep 3, 2022
Thailand's embattled flag carrier Thai Airways International has set the course to recovery as its creditors have accepted the carrier's revised rehabilitation plan
The airline reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand on September 1 that creditors who hold 78.59 per cent of the total debt had accepted its plan. The result will next be reviewed by the Central Bankruptcy Court in a hearing on September 14, the airline said.
Thai Airways said it "thanked the creditors for their confidence in the plan" and noted that this will help it "lay the foundation for sustainable growth and profit-making abilities in the future."
Borrowing fresh funds
Under the revised plan, Thai Airways aims to borrow 12.5 billion baht ($341 million) over six years and another 12.5 billion baht in the shorter term, the airline's chief finance officer Chai Iamsiri said.
Previously, the airline expected to face a cash deficit of 50 billion baht and planned to match that by borrowing 25 billion baht from state agencies and the remainder from private institutions.
Iamsiri said the airline had discussed the revised plan with stockholders and the country's finance ministry supported it.
He added that there were two ways of finding funds, one being seeking additional funding via debt-to-equity deals with current creditors or getting funds from stockholders and new investors, while the second was to find new lenders.
Confidence as aviation industry recovers
Amid a recovery of the aviation industry and increasing booking rates, Thai Airways said it is "confident "this rehabilitation plan will be successful and achieved within the deadline."
However, Piyasvasti Amranand, chairman of Thai Airways' committee overseeing the airline's rehabilitation plan, admitted that entering a court rehabilitation process has affected the carrier's operations and services, resulting in negative reviews from passengers about the airline.
Customers still disgruntled
For example, he said, many customers complained that the company could not refund passenger tickets after its flights were unable to operate during the Covid-19 pandemic due to restricted conditions under its debt rehabilitation processes.
"Thai Airways owes us ticket refunds – are we not creditors too?" one irate would-be passenger wrote on social media.
After the rehabilitation, Thailand's finance ministry, which is currently a 51-per cent owner, will hold no more than 50 per cent of the airline's stakes, ending its status as a state-owned enterprise.
Thailand's embattled flag carrier Thai Airways International has set the course to recovery as its creditors have accepted the carrier's revised rehabilitation plan The airline reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand on September 1 that creditors who hold 78.59 per cent of the total debt had accepted its plan. The result will next be reviewed by the Central Bankruptcy Court in a hearing on September 14, the airline said. Thai Airways said it "thanked the creditors for their confidence in the plan" and noted that this will help it "lay the foundation for sustainable growth and profit-making abilities in...
Bankruptcy protection
Rehabilitation plan
Stock Exchange of Thailand
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