NEW DELHI: Etihad Airways has submitted a bid for a stake in India’s Jet Airways, the unit of State Bank of India (SBI) overseeing the sale of the stricken airline said on Friday.
SBI had invited binding bids for a stake in the airline, which is saddled with roughly $1.2 billion in bank debt. Binding offers were due by 6 p.m. local time on Friday.
Etihad, which already holds a minority stake in Jet, is interested in re-investing in the airline, subject to certain conditions, a spokesman for the Middle Eastern carrier said earlier on Friday.
However, he added that Etihad “cannot be expected to be the sole investor” and “additional suitable investors would need to provide the majority of Jet Airways’ required recapitalization.”
Etihad gave no indication whether it was working with any other investors that might take a majority stake in Jet.
Once India’s largest private airline, Jet was crippled by mounting losses as it tried to compete with low-cost rivals IndiGo and SpiceJet.
Jet, which also owes vast sums to its lessors, pilots, fuel suppliers and other parties, stopped all flights from April 17 after its lenders, led by SBI, refused to extend more funds to keep the carrier flying.
Etihad was among four investors that submitted initial bids for the airline last month. The others were private equity firms TPG Capital and Indigo Partners and Indian wealth fund National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).
SBI has also received two unsolicited, non-binding bids for Jet, the bank’s Chairman Rajnish Kumar told reporters, after a news conference on Friday, adding it had no plans at this time to drag the airline into a bankruptcy process
“(We’ve) made disproportionate efforts to keep Jet flying,” Kumar said.
Jet for several months tried to convince investors, including Etihad, to pump in money and save the airline. But several potential investors had at least one condition — Jet’s founder and former chairman Naresh Goyal must cede control.
When Jet failed to garner interest, the banks, led by SBI, moved in with a rescue plan which was first announced in February and put into action in March after Goyal stepped down.
“A few unsolicited offers have also been received which the lenders may deliberate upon subsequently,” SBI Capital Markets said in a statement without giving further details.
Analysts are skeptical the sale process will succeed.
“The process of bidding and winning isn’t so easy,” said HDFC Securities analyst Deepak Jasani. “Day by day, losses and loans are rising at Jet, the more the process is delayed the more the situation becomes irreparable,” he said.
While the bid process was on, Jet was forced to vacate its offices at many airports across the country and employee access was revoked. Lessors also forced Jet to ground dozens of planes over non-payment of dues and it is left with just 13 aircraft, a senior SBI source told Reuters.
At its peak, 26-year-old Jet operated over 120 planes and well over 600 daily flights, flying Bollywood film-stars, politicians and business tycoons across India and the world.
If a deal fails to materialize, the airline could be dragged into bankruptcy by creditors, putting thousands of jobs at risk.
Etihad submits bid for India’s Jet Airways
Etihad submits bid for India’s Jet Airways
- Etihad, which already holds a minority stake in Jet, is interested in re-investing in the airline
- Jet is saddled with roughly $1.2 billion in bank debt
Reforms target sustained growth in Saudi real estate sector, says Al-Hogail
RIYADH: The Real Estate Future Forum opened its doors for its first day at the Four Seasons Riyadh, with prominent global and local figures coming together to engage with one of the Kingdom’s most prospering sectors.
With new regulations, laws, and investments underway, 2026 is expected to be a year of momentous progress for the real estate sector in the Kingdom.
The forum opened with a video highlighting the sector’s progress in the Kingdom, during which an emphasis was placed on the forum’s ability to create global reach, representation, as well as agreements worth a cumulative $50 billion
With the Kingdom now opening up real estate ownership to foreigners, this year’s Real Estate Future Forum is placing a great deal of importance on this new milestone and its desired outcomes and impact on the market.
Aside from this year’s forum’s unique discussions surrounding those developments, it will also be the first of its kind to launch the Real Estate Excellence Award and announce its finalist during the three-day summit.
Minister of Municipalities and Housing and Chairman of the Real Estate General Authority Majed Al-Hogail took to stage to address the diverse audience on the real estate market’s achievements thus far and its milestones to come.
Of those important milestones, he underscored “real estate balance” as a key pillar of the sector’s decisions to implement regulatory tools “with the aim of constant growth which can maintain the vitality of this sector.” He pointed to examples of those regulatory measures, such as the White Land Tax.
On 2025’s progress, the minister highlighted the jump in Saudi family home ownership, which went from 47 percent in 2016 to 66 percent in 2025, keeping the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goal of 70 percent by the end of the decade on track.
He said the opening of the real estate market to foreigners is an indicator of the sector’s maturity under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He said his ministry plans to build over 300,000 housing units in Riyadh over the next three years.
Speaking to Arab News, Al-Hogail elaborated on these achievements, stating: “Today, demand, especially local demand, has grown significantly. The mortgage market has reached record levels, exceeding SR900 billion ($240 billion) in mortgage financing, we are now seeing SRC (Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co.) injecting both local and foreign liquidity on a large scale, reaching more than SR54 billion”
Al-Hogail described Makkah and Madinah as unique and special points in the Kingdom’s real estate market as he spoke of the sector’s attractiveness.
“Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become, in international investment indices, one that takes a good share of the Middle East, and based on this, many real estate investment portfolios have begun to come in,” he said.
Al-Ahsa Gov. Prince Saud bin Talal bin Badr Al-Saud told Arab News the Kingdom’s ability to balance both heritage sites with real estate is one of its strengths.
He said: “Actually the real estate market supports the whole infrastructure … the whole ecosystem goes back together in the foundation of the real estate; if we have the right infrastructure we can leverage more on tourism plus we can leverage more on the quality of life … we’re looking at 2030, this is the vision … to have the right infrastructure the time for more investors to come in real estate, entertainment, plus tourism and culture.”
