Malaysia Airlines seeks $500mn, creditor talks drag – report

Malaysia Aviation Group has asked its parent, the sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, for a USD500 million bailout as debt restructuring talks with creditors remain inconclusive, unnamed sources told Malaysia’s The Edge Weekly. The group has preferred not to disclose how much it has asked for from the government via the fund, choosing not to respond at all to the magazine. But the Malaysia Airlines parent company told Reuters on November 21: “Malaysia Aviation Group has requested financial support from our shareholder Khazanah Nasional, although the company isn’t in a position to comment on the amount at this point in time.” The group remains in restructuring talks with lessors and creditors. These are in the final stages, according to The Edge’s sources, and Malaysia Aviation Group is now aiming for a commercial agreement with them in the first week of December. It warned lessors last month that Khazanah would stop funding the group entirely and wind it down if restructuring talks with lessors were unsuccessful. The discussions are taking longer than planned, Malaysia Airlines’ chief executive Izham Ismail admitted in a letter to employees in October. Khazanah Nasional has pumped billions of ringgit into the airline in recent years to keep it afloat, but this time the government has not yet made any such commitment. The fund told Reuters that any financing now would depend on the outcome of the negotiations with creditors and lessors.