State-owned Vietnam Airlines will need liquidity support by the end of August, the airline’s chief executive Duong Tri Thanh has said.
Speaking at a meeting held on 13 July with the Vietnamese prime minister’s economic advisory group, which Cirium did not attend, Thanh said his airline has lost D50 trillion ($2.15 billion) in revenue this year. A report about the meeting was published on 14 July on the Vietnamese government’s news website.
Nguyen Duc Kien, head of the economic advisory group, said the group will “propose solutions such as refinancing, bridging loans, issuing shares to increase capital or transfer capital” to help Vietnam Airlines overcome financial difficulties.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese news site VnExpress International reported on 14 July that Thanh said at the same meeting that Vietnam Airlines is seeking an urgent D12 trillion bailout from the government. The report added that the airline is likely to report a loss of D13 trillion this year, with revenues falling by half from last year to around D50 trillion. Those details were not mentioned in the 14 July report on the government news website.
On 12 June, the airline’s chief accountant Tran Thanh Hien was quoted by Vietnamese language newspaper Thanh Nien as saying that the airline had submitted a proposal to the Vietnamese government for a low-interest loan of “at least” D4 trillion.
The Thanh Nien report also indicated that the airline plans to issue shares to existing shareholders, as well as issuing D10 trillion in bonds with a 10-year term for aircraft acquisition between 2021 and 2025.
Cirium has contacted Vietnam Airlines to clarify the amount of money it is seeking for its bailout.
