Collectors of Thai Airways approve reorganization plan – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

BANGKOK – (AP) – Thai Airways International creditors, which hold 91.56% of the airline’s debt, have approved a restructuring plan, the company said in a statement on the Thai stock exchange on Wednesday.

The plan, which includes three changes added in consultation with creditors, will now have to be finally approved by the Thai central bankruptcy court on May 28th.

The carrier has incurred losses for several years in a row. Losses totaled 2.11 billion baht ($ 67.2 million) in 2017, 11.6 billion baht ($ 369.5 million) in 2018, and 12 billion baht ($ 382.2 million) in 2019. Dollar).

Losses rose to 141.1 billion baht ($ 4.5 billion) in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the airline suspended virtually all operations for an extended period of time.

The restructuring plan calls for a total debt of 410 billion baht ($ 13.4 billion) for the company. Under the approved plan, a new long-term loan or revolving loan worth 50 billion baht (US $ 1.6 billion) will be requested.

The airline initially applied for a 54 billion baht ($ 1.7 billion) rescue loan from the Thai government after the crisis erupted last year, but was rejected.

Cabinet approved a reduction in the government’s stake in the airline to below 50% in May last year as part of the restructuring plan, reducing the Treasury’s stake from 51% to 47.86%.

When the government reduced its stake, the airline lost its state-owned company status. The action also meant that the airline’s state-owned corporate union was automatically dissolved.

The airline has already cut both full-time and contract staff by cutting 8,700 jobs. The company currently has around 21,000 employees and plans to reduce that number to 13,000 to 15,000 by the beginning of next year.

The statement to the stock exchange states that five people have been tasked with managing the plan.

Two of them are the airline’s acting chief executive officer, Chansin Treenuchagron, and its former CEO, Piyasvasti Amranand. The others are Treasury Department official Pornchai Thiravet, former Energy Secretary Siri Jirapongphan, and Bangkok Bank’s executive vice president and legal manager Kraisorn Barameeauychai.