Garuda administrators recognize $8.3b of claims

Administrators for Garuda Indonesia have acknowledged claims worth 120.5t rupiah ($8.3b) as the beleaguered airline seeks to restructure its debts. Documents posted online showed the biggest claim coming from Airbus at more than 7.8t rupiah. Oil company PT Pertamina, which is looking to recover 7.5t rupiah, also featured on the list labeled “final.” The figures come ahead of a key scheduled court date for Garuda on Thursday to lay out its restructuring plan. A final vote on the proposal is due to take place later this month. Like many airlines, the Indonesian carrier’s business took a hit due to Covid-19. It currently is operating only about 20% of its pre-pandemic fleet, limiting its ability to raise revenue to repay its debts. The acknowledged tally of 120.5t rupiah stands in contrast to 163t rupiah worth of bills that creditors put forward, the documents showed. The latter is lower than the previously reported figure of 198t rupiah. Martin Patrick Nagel, a court-appointed administrator, did not answer calls nor respond to text messages Tuesday seeking clarification on the discrepancies. Among the reasons cited by administrators for rejecting claims were that bills had already been paid or that there was no record of the expenditure. Some claims from sukuk holders got rejected on the grounds they needed to submit them via a trustee. Once an agreement between the carrier and its creditors is struck, the Indonesian government plans a rights issue in two stages this year to raise additional funds.<br/>