MUMBAI: Air India has announced it is seeking an urgent multi-million-dollar loan to maintain day-to-day operations, highlighting the wretched financial predicament of the country’s debt-stricken national carrier.
In a statement posted on its website this week the airline said it was looking for a short-term loan of 10 billion rupees ($148 million) “to meet urgent working capital requirements.”
Air India has failed to pay staff their salaries on time for the past three months, according to multiple news reports.
The plea for funds, made on Tuesday but only picked up by media late Thursday, came just days after the government said it had not received any bids in an auction for a majority stake in the beleaguered airline.
The government announced in March that it planned to sell up to 76 percent of Air India but a May 31 deadline passed without any suitors coming forward.
Airlines and other investors were put off by some of the sale terms, forcing the government to go back to the drawing board.
India’s Tata Group, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and IndiGo were all linked to a takeover but subsequently ruled themselves out.
IndiGo, India’s biggest airline, wanted Air India’s international operations but the government refused to carve up the carrier.
Air India, founded in 1932, was once the country’s monopoly airline, known affectionately as the “Maharaja of the skies.”
But it has been hemorrhaging money for years and it has lost market share to low-cost rivals in one of the world’s fastest-growing airline markets.
Successive governments had spent billions of dollars to keep it flying before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet last year gave the go-ahead for a sell-off.
Air India is about $8 billion in the red and reported losses of almost 58 billion rupees for the financial year ending March 2017.
Embattled Air India seeks ‘urgent’ loan
Embattled Air India seeks ‘urgent’ loan
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,847
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Wednesday, losing 58.51 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 10,847.93.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.78 billion ($1 billion), as 73 of the listed stocks advanced, while 187 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 7.09 points or 0.48 percent, to close at 1,472.98.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 178.75 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 22,916.83. This comes as 30 of the listed stocks advanced, while 37 retreated.
The best-performing stock was the Power and Water Utility Co. for Jubail and Yanbu, with its share price surging by 8.47 percent to SR31.24.
Other top performers included Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.13 percent to SR53.70, and Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Co., which saw a 4.58 percent increase to SR137.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was CHUBB Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., whose share price fell by 5.14 percent to SR17.53.
Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. and Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co. also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 4.87 percent and 4.43 percent to SR4.88 and SR181.40, respectively.
On the announcement front, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. announced its annual financial results for 2025, with sales dropping 3.06 percent year-on-year to SR8.45 billion. The company also recorded a net loss of SR893.86 million.
In a Tadawul statement, the company said the net loss and decline in annual sales were driven by a drop in average selling prices, despite higher sales volumes.
