TAWNF NEWS UPDATE!!!!
Thai Air Creditors Delay Vote on Debt Restructuring Plan
Anuchit Nguyen
Wed, May 12, 2021, 2:37 AM
THAI-R.BK
+5.50%
(Bloomberg) -- A vote by creditors on whether to approve Thai Airways International Pcl’s debt restructuring plan has been delayed by about a week, according to the carrier’s legal adviser.
Debtholders met Wednesday by video conference to discuss the restructuring plan and some proposed to push back the vote until next week, Kitipong Urapeepatanapong, chairman of Baker & McKenzie in Bangkok, said by phone. Lenders holding 10% of the debt can seek a delay, Kitipong said.
The national flag carrier needs more than 50% of creditors to accept its plan, which is part of measures to help it return to profitability as it navigates the devastation wreaked on the global travel industry by the pandemic. The airline, which has total liabilities of at least $11 billion, in March proposed a three-year freeze on loan repayments in one of the nation’s most high-profile restructurings.
Thai Airways is seeking a deferment of bond repayments for six years and a waiver of unpaid interest on loans as part of the plan, involving about 170 billion baht ($5.44 billion) of debt. It’s also looking to raise 50 billion baht in new capital, plans to slash its workforce in half and sell property to help return to profitability.
The Southeast Asian country is facing renewed woes more than a year into the pandemic as a new wave of infections brings more turmoil to its crucial travel sector. Thai Airways, which saw a record loss of 141 billion baht last year, joins other global peers in trying to get debt relief as mass flight suspensions cause carriers to seek financial help from governments and investors.
