Kenya Airways is seeking a financial adviser as part of a process to find an investor to take a stake in the loss-making carrier. The adviser will develop an investor memorandum before the process of identifying a potential backer begins, according to a document presented by the company to lawmakers on Monday. The process of selecting the adviser is expected to be completed by December, it said. An investor is being sought after the government decided that an International Monetary Fund-backed turnaround program, known as Project Kifaru, was too expensive. The plan envisaged the state contributing $493m of budgetary support to the carrier over three years. Once a preferred investor has been identified, “the risk and cost exposure to government of Kenya is reduced,” the company said. KQ, as the carrier is known, reported a loss of 38.3b shillings ($274.4m) in the year through December, more than double the loss of 15.9b shillings a year earlier. The carrier, which is 48.9% state-owned, was losing money even before the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 caused it to seek bailouts from the government. It is projecting an operating profit in 2024, which would be the first in seven years. Kenya Airways owes creditors $1.35b and is at risk of defaulting on a $420.5m government loan, which would result in “cross default implications on other facilities in addition to accrual of default penalties,” the company said.<br/>