Singapore Airlines to seek tougher terms for any fresh Air India funding, sources say

Singapore Airlines' Airbus A350-900 ULR. (File photo: Singapore Airlines)

Singapore Airlines, backed by Temasek, is expected to seek greater influence over management and stronger governance rights before approving a capital injection into Air India, said two people familiar with the matter.

The proposed conditions, which would be negotiated with Air India's majority owner Tata Sons, could include greater board voting power and requirements for the Indian carrier to narrow its losses, the people said.

Temasek, Singapore Airlines' majority shareholder, would neither provide the capital itself nor intervene in the carrier's decisions concerning Air India, they added.

The discussion of conditions comes after Reuters last month reported Air India was seeking about US$1.5 billion in fresh equity from its owners.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Two other people said Tata had approved a US$1.1 billion infusion, representing its pro-rata share. Singapore Airlines holds the remaining 25.1 per cent stake. All four of the people declined to be identified as the information is not yet public. In a statement, Singapore Airlines said its board would carefully evaluate any request for additional capital, taking into account Air India's business strategy, the group's operating cash flow and its other capital requirements. Temasek declined to comment on "speculation with respect to the points on Temasek". Tata and Air India did not respond to requests for comment.

Two other people said Tata had approved a US$1.1 billion infusion, representing its pro-rata share. Singapore Airlines holds the remaining 25.1 per cent stake.

All four of the people declined to be identified as the information is not yet public.

In a statement, Singapore Airlines said its board would carefully evaluate any request for additional capital, taking into account Air India's business strategy, the group's operating cash flow and its other capital requirements.

Temasek declined to comment on "speculation with respect to the points on Temasek".

Tata and Air India did not respond to requests for comment.

The push for tougher terms reflects growing pressure on Singapore Airlines to justify increasing its investment in Air India, which posted a US$2.33 billion loss in the financial year ended March, weighing directly on the Singaporean carrier's profits.

Singapore Airlines has lost money in several past overseas investments, and Tata said in July that Air India's turnaround could take up to a decade. The Indian carrier has appointed former Ethiopian Airlines head Tewolde Gebremariam as its new CEO to replace former Singapore Airlines executive Campbell Wilson.

Singapore Airlines has limited formal influence over Air India. Under a 2022 merger agreement that folded its 49 per cent-owned Indian carrier Vistara into Air India, it received a single board seat, taken up by its CEO Goh Choon Phong.

Its stake of more than 25 per cent does, however, give it the power under Indian company law to block special resolutions covering major corporate matters, including mergers, share buybacks and voluntary winding up.

Air India's funding request drew a call from an opposition lawmaker in Singapore for Temasek's funds not to be used to support the Indian airline.

Singapore Airlines said on Tuesday (Sep 8) that its investments in India have been and will continue to be funded by its internal resources, noting it had S$10.48 billion (US$8.29 billion) in cash reserves and S$3.24 billion in undrawn credit lines as of end-June.

Temasek last month publicly backed Singapore Airlines' investment in the Indian carrier, saying it took a long-term view of the decision.

Singapore's Senior Minister K Shanmugam said on Saturday any decision to invest in Air India lay with Singapore Airlines, and that Temasek expected the airline to make investment decisions responsibly.

The onus for setting safeguards, governance expectations and performance targets for any additional investment in Air India lies with Singapore Airlines, not Temasek, one of the people said.

Singapore Airlines' strategy is to benefit from India's long-term aviation growth while managing the risks of a major airline turnaround, the person added, noting that Temasek backed similar bets on Indian companies in the past, including hospital operator Manipal Health.

Temasek has built up significant exposure to India across sectors including healthcare, financial services, consumer and technology, and has cited the country as a key growth market in its portfolio.

Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

新加坡航空公司的空客A350-900 ULR客机。（资料图片：新加坡航空公司）

两位知情人士表示，淡马锡支持的新加坡航空公司预计将在批准向印度航空注资之前，寻求对管理层更大的影响力以及更强的治理权。

知情人士透露，拟议的条件将与印度航空的大股东塔塔集团进行谈判，其中可能包括赋予印度航空更大的董事会投票权，以及要求这家印度航空公司减少亏损。

他们补充说，新加坡航空公司的大股东淡马锡既不会亲自提供资金，也不会干预该公司有关印度航空的决策。

此前路透社上月报道称，印度航空正在寻求从其所有者那里获得约 15 亿美元的新股权，随后便出现了关于相关条件的讨论。

CNA游戏猜词游戏：逐行破解单词；流行词游戏：用给定的字母组成单词；迷你数独：小巧的谜题，强大的脑力挑战；迷你填字游戏：小方格，大挑战；单词搜索：尽可能多地找出单词。显示更多 显示更少 另有两人透露，塔塔集团已批准11亿美元的注资，这是其按比例应占的股份。新加坡航空持有剩余的25.1%股份。由于信息尚未公开，这四位人士均拒绝透露姓名。新加坡航空在一份声明中表示，其董事会将认真评估任何追加资本的请求，并考虑印度航空的业务战略、集团的运营现金流和其他资本需求。淡马锡拒绝就“有关淡马锡的猜测”置评。塔塔集团和印度航空均未回应置评请求。

另有两人表示，塔塔集团已批准注资11亿美元，这是其按比例应占的股份。新加坡航空持有剩余的25.1%股份。

由于信息尚未公开，这四人均拒绝透露身份。

新加坡航空公司在一份声明中表示，其董事会将认真评估任何追加资本的请求，同时考虑到印度航空的业务战略、集团的经营现金流和其他资本需求。

淡马锡拒绝就“有关淡马锡的猜测”发表评论。

塔塔集团和印度航空均未回应置评请求。

要求更严格条款的呼声反映出新加坡航空公司面临越来越大的压力，需要证明其增加对印度航空投资的合理性。印度航空在截至 3 月份的财年亏损了 23.3 亿美元，直接影响了新加坡航空公司的利润。

新加坡航空公司过去在海外的几项投资中均出现亏损，而塔塔集团在7月份表示，印度航空公司的扭亏为盈可能需要长达十年的时间。这家印度航空公司已任命埃塞俄比亚航空公司前首席执行官特沃德·格布雷马里亚姆(Tewolde Gebremariam)接替新加坡航空公司前高管坎贝尔·威尔逊(Campbell Wilson)担任新任首席执行官。

新加坡航空公司对印度航空的正式影响力有限。根据2022年将其持股49%的印度航空公司维斯塔拉航空并入印度航空的合并协议，新加坡航空公司仅获得一个董事会席位，由其首席执行官吴俊鹏担任。

然而，该公司持有超过 25% 的股份，这使其有权根据印度公司法阻止涵盖重大公司事项的特别决议，包括合并、股票回购和自愿清算。

印度航空的融资请求引发了新加坡一位反对派议员的呼吁，要求不要使用淡马锡的资金来支持这家印度航空公司。

新加坡航空公司周二（9月8日）表示，其在印度的投资过去和将来都将由其内部资源提供资金，并指出截至6月底，该公司拥有104.8亿新元（82.9亿美元）的现金储备和32.4亿新元的未提取信贷额度。

淡马锡上个月公开支持新加坡航空公司对这家印度航空公司的投资，称其对该决定是从长远角度考虑的。

新加坡高级部长尚穆根周六表示，是否投资印度航空由新加坡航空公司自行决定，淡马锡希望该航空公司能够负责任地做出投资决定。

一位知情人士表示，为印度航空的任何额外投资设定保障措施、治理预期和绩效目标的责任在于新加坡航空公司，而不是淡马锡。

该人士补充说，新加坡航空公司的战略是受益于印度航空业的长期增长，同时管控大型航空公司转型带来的风险。他还指出，淡马锡过去也曾对印度公司进行过类似的投资，包括医院运营商马尼帕尔健康集团。

淡马锡已在印度医疗保健、金融服务、消费品和科技等多个行业建立了相当大的投资，并将印度视为其投资组合中的关键增长市场。

我们的主编每周六都会分享对本周重大新闻的分析和精选。

订阅我们的邮件，即可获取精选热点新闻和引人深思的文章。

订阅通知，第一时间获取突发新闻和精彩报道。

加入我们的频道，即可在您常用的聊天应用上获取当日热门文章。