Kingfisher Airlines dips ahead of key lenders' meet

NEW DELHI: Kingfisher Airlines Ltd slipped over 2 per cent in morning trade on Monday ahead of its meet with lenders. The company has debt over Rs 7000 crore on its books.

The 17-bank consortium are pinning their hopes on the private carrier’s promoter Vijay Mallya to come up with a concrete revival plan for the airline on Monday.

At 09:40 am, Kingfisher was trading 2.4 per cent lower at Rs 17.30. It has hit a low of Rs 16.85 and a high of Rs 17.70 in trade today.

State Bank of India ( SBI), the lead banker in the 17-lender consortium said there is no need for lenders to panic as the cash- strapped Kingfisher Airlines is looking for a solution to come out of the crisis, PTI reported on Friday.

"Kingfisher has been a good airline at some point of time. They are going through their set of problems. And there is no reason for bankers to panic as long as they say that they are looking for a solution.

"The assurance only is that they are trying," SBI Managing Director Diwakar Gupta told reporters at the Delhi Economics Conclave here.

SBI has extended Rs 7,000 crore loans to the now grounded Kingfisher Airlines. It has an exposure of Rs 1,500 crore to the carrier, which has not been serviced since January, 2012.

Since last week, Kingfisher stock has moved nearly 18 per cent higher on the exchange boosted by reports of a possible deal with Etihad Airways.

“United Arab Emirates national carrier, Etihad Airways was also in talks with Jet, has agreed to pick up a 48 per cent stake in Kingfisher for a little over Rs 3,000 crore,” according to media reports.

“The deal’s official announcement is likely to come around December 18. Etihad will buy a 30 per cent stake this month and another 18 per cent by August next year,” added the report.