India mulls excluding debt of flag carrier before stake sale

India’s govt, which is planning to sell a stake in Air India, is considering options such as keeping out at least a part of its US$8b of debt to help lure investors, the nation’s civil aviation minister said. Air India’s assets such as real estate could also be spun off into a separate company, Ashok Gajapathi Raju said Friday. A call will be taken by a group of ministers headed by Finance minister Arun Jaitley, and the govt is open to all options, including allowing foreign investment in the carrier, he said. “Its books are bad, you can’t leave it like that,” Raju said. “Suppose a portion of its debt is removed, non-aviation-related assets are removed and put into a shell company owned by the govt, I think things will work.” <br/>