Kenya Airways seeks to raise as much as $1.5b capital

Kenya Airways now seeks to raise as much as $1.5b in fresh capital in a restructuring process authorities say will revive the carrier and plug a drain on state resources. KQ — as the airline is also known — has in the past relied on the National Treasury to repay loans and for operational costs. It didn’t receive direct government support in the past year, according to CEO Allan Kilavuka. Two years ago, the company estimated restructuring would cost $1b. “If the government could, they would already have given that funding because they believe in the strategic importance of the airline,” he said of the needed injection. “They will not be doing that because of the stretched fiscal position. We are looking for an airline that will complement us. We have no specific preferences in terms of origin, but we are talking to a wide range of them.” The carrier expects to pick a strategic investor this year, Kilavuka said after reporting the first operating profit in six years and narrowing the annual loss by 41%. <br/>