South Africa: Talks With Keen Investors in State Airline South African Airways

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 08:31 am

South Africa‘s government has started talks with private entities interested in buying into the country’s insolvent national carrier, which needs at least 10 billion rand ($583 million) to resume operations.

A team from the Department of Public Enterprises and advisers from FirstRand Ltd.’s Rand Merchant Bank began negotiations after receiving as many as four promising proposals regarding South African Airways, according to Kgathatso Tlhakudi, the DPE’s director general.

The state ideally wants SAA to resume operations by the year-end, he said in an interview on Wednesday, although much will depend on a pick up in demand amid the Covid-19 pandemic and a successful fundraising.

(Africanbusinesscentral)