Thai Airways International has submitted a recapitalisation plan to Thailand's ministry of finance, which is likely to buy new shares issued by the carrier to maintain its majority stake.
It is uncertain how many shares the ministry will purchase, but it "will likely be sufficient to maintain [its] majority shareholding", says a carrier spokeswoman.
Thai reportedly plans to raise capital by issuing new shares and refinancing. The airline's president Piyasvasti Amranand was quoted in media reports as saying the ministry will purchase half of the new shares to maintain its 51% stake.
It is unclear how much the airline plans to raise from the recapitalisation, says the spokeswoman.
"The amount will depend on the expected future investment plan soon to be released," she adds.
Thai posted a net loss of 21 billion baht ($638 million) in 2008, and has 160 billion Thai baht of debt.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
