SIA Raises US$1.5 Billion via Aircraft Deal, to Keep Exploring Other Ways of Boosting Liquidity

   By P.R. Venkat 
 

Singapore Airlines Ltd. will continue to explore additional means of raising liquidity to weather the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic that crimped demand for business and leisure travel worldwide.

The airline said Monday that it has raised 2.0 billion Singapore dollars (US$1.5 billion) via the sale-and-lease back of 11 aircraft, including seven Airbus A350-900s and four Boeing 787-10S.

SIA that it continues to have access to more than S$2.1 billion in committed credit lines, along with an option to raise up to S$6.2 billion in additional mandatory convertible bonds before its annual general meeting in July.

Like carriers around the world, Singapore Airlines has been hit hard by the pandemic and suffered heavy losses as demand for air travel dried up. For the third quarter ended December, the company posted a net loss of S$142 million compared with profit of S$315 million a year earlier.

"The additional liquidity from the sale-and-lease back transactions reinforces our ability to navigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic from a position of strength," Chief Executive Goh Choon Phong said.

Write to P.R. Venkat at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 02, 2021 20:58 ET (00:58 GMT)

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