Singapore Airlines secures $7.2bn in liquidity

Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) has raised a total of SGD10.2 billion Singapore dollars (USD7.3 billion) in liquidity through a recent rights issue plus a mix of secured and unsecured credit facilities, putting the carrier on “a steady footing as it tackles the challenges posed by the global Covid-19 outbreak,” it said in a statement on June 8. It said it had raised SGD900 million (USD648 million) through long-term loans secured on some of its A350-900 and B787-10 aircraft and had simultaneously arranged new lines of credit and a short-term loan with “several banks” for further liquidity of more than SGD500 million (USD360 million). These add to SGD8.8 billion (USD6.3 billion), which, as previously reported, it raised in April from a renounceable rights issue. Also, all existing lines of credit that were due to mature during 2020 have been extended to 2021 or later, ensuring available liquidity of more than SGD1.7 billion (USD1.22 billion), the company said. And it has the option to raise a further SGD6.2 billion (USD4.5 billion) in additional mandatory convertible bonds until July 2021. “During this period of high uncertainty, SIA will continue to explore additional means to shore up liquidity as necessary,” it assured. Singapore Airlines’ total financing is among the biggest raised by any airline around the world during the coronavirus crisis, according to Reuters.