New Delhi: State Bank of India (SBI), the top lender of Jet Airways India Ltd, said the biggest challenge for any potential investor is reversing the airline’s negative net worth before the grounded carrier can fly again. “Liabilities and losses are considerable,” Rajnish Kumar, chairman of SBI, said in an interview with ‘Bloomberg Television’.
“All these past liabilities and then, profitably, can they fly in future? These are some of the considerations which are weighing upon the minds of the potential investors.” The deadline for submission of binding bids to take over control and ownership of Jet Airways is 10 May, Kumar said. The lenders have yet to take a call on how much debt will be forgiven, he said.
SBI-led creditors, to which the airline owes more than $1 billion, have put Jet up for sale after the carrier failed to pay back debt. Once India’s biggest airline by market value, Jet Airways has been a victim of a budget airline boom in the fiercely competitive market in the South Asian nation, where carriers offer base fare of as low as 1 cent to lure first time flyers.
