Govt considers asset sale to pay South African Airways debt

SAA Livery

The South African government is investigating which of its state assets it can sell off as it comes to the aid of South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) with a ZAR2.2 billion (USD166.5 million) loan, reports Business Day. The government made the decision to bail out the airline in early July, afraid that a default would trigger a call on the National Revenue Fund guarantee.

"The government's decision to settle a debt owed by the airline to Standard Chartered Plc mustn't affect the balance of this year's budget," Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said in a letter to parliament.

Business Day identifies Telkom SA SOC Ltd as a potential asset up for disposal. The government currently holds a 39.8% direct stake worth about ZAR13.5 billion (USD1.04 billion) in the telecoms company, and an additional 10.9% through the state-owned Public Investment Corporation.

As well as the Standard Chartered debt, South African Airways has other loans totalling approximately ZAR6.8 billion (USD512 million).

Source:https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/58009-govt-considers-asset-sale-to-pay-south-african-airways-debt

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sudan's Badr Airlines and Aloor Airlines partner for Juba ops

Image
Badr Airlines B737-300 Badr Airlines (J4, Khartoum) has resumed flights to South Sudan following the signing of a partnership agreement with South Sudanese operator Aloor Airlines (Juba). The Sudan Tribune reports Badr Airlines is slated to operate flights between the South Sudanese towns of Wau and Juba with an onward sector to the North Sudanese capital Khartoum. The first such service took place early last week using B737 equipment. Badr Airlines last served Juba between 2004 and 2011 when the city was still a part of the Republic of Sudan (today North Sudan). The flights ended in 2011 following South Sudan's independence and the subsequent escalation in tensions between the states over the oil-rich Kordofan border region. Badr Airlines also serves Cairo Int'l and Jeddah internationally with domestic destinations listed as Port Sudan, El Obeid, Damazin, El Fasher, Geneina, and Nyala. It currently operates one B737-300 and four B737-500s. Source:https://www.ch-
muxajax@blogger.com

Namibia's Westair Aviation acquires four ERJ-135s from HOP!

Image
Westair Aviation Logo Namibian passenger charter/ACMI specialist Westair Aviation (Windhoek Eros) has acquired four ERJ-135s from Air France subsidiary HOP!-Régional (YS, Clermont-Ferrand), the first of the type to feature in its growing fleet inventory. According to The Namibian newspaper, the aircraft in question are those which Air Namibia (SW, Windhoek Int'l) had been leasing from the French regional operator namely msn 145243, 145335, 145347, and 145252. They collectively average almost 17 years of age and are used on flights from Windhoek Int'l to Luderitz, Oranjemund, and Walvis Bay domestically as well as Harare Int'l and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Lusaka in Zambia. They are also used on services from Walvis Bay to Cape Town and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo in South Africa as well as from Windhoek Eros to Mpacha, Ondangwa, and Rundu. As such, given the change in ownership, Westair Aviation has directed Air Namibia that henceforth its leasing payments are to
muxajax@blogger.com

Solenta Aviation takes SA Express to court over $6.5mn debt

Image
Solenta Avaiton Logo Solenta Aviation (SET, Lanseria) has taken South African Express (XZ, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) to court over ZAR87.3 million rand (USD6.5 million) in unpaid leasing debts. Citing papers filed with the Gauteng High Court, Business Day reports the claim relates to fees due on three ERJ-145s South African Express wet-leased from Solenta between October 2016 and June this year. Court documents indicate the original ACMI lease contract was for three aircraft covering the period June to December 2016. The agreement was then extended by mutual consent to January of this year and then again from February 1 to July 31. SA Express was to pay Solenta USD300,000 per month for 150 guaranteed block hours for the initial contract which was then reduced to USD270,000 under the revised agreement. For any hours over and above the alloted 150, SA Express was to pay Solenta a rate of USD1,200 per hour under the original contract growing to USD1,300 under the revised agreemen
muxajax@blogger.com