Tata, Singapore Airlines pump $100mn into India’s Vistara

For the fifth time in the space of 16 months, Vistara (UK, Delhi Int’l) has received fresh equity from its parent companies Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi), this time for INR7.5 billion rupees (USD101 million).

Indian conglomerate Tata Sons Private Limited accounted for INR3.825 billion (USD51.5 million) of the new funds, while Singapore Airlines Limited injected INR3.675 billion (USD49.5 million), according to regulatory filings it submitted to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Vistara, which revealed in July that it was in the process of deferring the delivery of its outstanding Airbus and Boeing commitments, is a 51/49 joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines Group.

As before, the support measure took the form of the issue of new shares, 750 million of them, with a nominal sum per share of INR10 (USD0.135).

The measure was the fifth capital injection in Vistara since April 2020 to bolster its finances during the Covid-19 pandemic. In May, the parents invested INR4.65 billion (USD63 million) in the venture, also by issuing new shares.

So far, the two partners have sunk a combined INR45 billion (USD606 million) in the airline, BusinessLine reported. Vistara’s losses have ballooned since it commenced operations in January 2015, from an INR4 billion (USD54 million) loss in its first full year to INR18.13 billion (USD244 million) in 2020.