Thailand: Minister lukewarm to calls for airline loans

Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith has responded with many reservations to calls for the government to provide soft loans as a lifeline for struggling airline businesses. The Export-Import Bank of Thailand (Exim Bank) has been tasked with devising a financial measure to help the airlines, but the bank has yet to submit its proposal to the Finance Ministry, said Arkhom. Providing soft loans to airlines or bringing such business loans under the Public Service Account means the Finance Ministry has to shoulder the difference of market interest and soft loan interest, he said. Airlines seemed to gradually recover before the second Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand emerged and further examination of each airline has to be made to assess the scale of impact, he said. It was reported in January that Exim Bank planned to propose a loan measure to the Finance Ministry in early February, aiming to beef up liquidity for crippled airlines to retain employees. The proposal emphasises helping airlines retain staff by offering financial liquidity through loans, said Pisit Serewiwattana, Exim Bank's president. The amount of loans will depend on the cost of hiring personnel for each airline, said Pisit. While most of the loan conditions cannot be disclosed yet, loans will be principally offered to Thai-owned airlines, he said.<br/>