Thai Airways revamp plan gets support from top shareholder

Thailand’s finance ministry, the largest shareholder of Thai Airways International, signaled its support for a restructuring plan that includes raising fresh capital, a temporary freeze on repayment of borrowings and slashing its workforce by half to return the debt-ridden airline to profit. The key elements of the debt rehabilitation plan are “quite acceptable,” Pantip Sripimol, director general of the State Enterprise Policy Office under the finance ministry, said Wednesday. The ministry will study the restructuring proposals in detail before deciding on its vote, she said. The ministry will support the airline’s fund-raising plan as it’s on a recovery path, Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said. Thai Airways, with liabilities of about $11b last year, expects its creditors to vote on the court-mandated debt recast plan on May 12, Acting President Chansin Treenuchagron said Tuesday. The airline, which posted a record loss of $4.7b last year, aims to return to profit in 2024, he said.<br/>