Mumbai, Nov.9:
With Diageo set to acquire majority stake in
United Spirits Ltd (USL) from the United Breweries (UB) Group, bankers feel
there is a ray of hope that the beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) will fly
again.
Bankers feel that UB Group promoter, Vijay
Mallya, will channel the funds raised, estimated at around $2 billion, from the
stake sale to revive KFA.
KFA’s licence has been suspended by aviation
regulator.
State Bank of India Chairman said “for the
airline, nothing can get any worse from here”.
Commenting on the USL-Diageo deal, Chaudhuri
said, “If at all it (KFA) starts flying and gets capitalised, there can only be
an upside and to that extent this news is positive.”
SBI has classified the KFA account as a
non-performing asset and the entire loan has been provided for. There is no
downside in Kingfisher, said the SBI chief.
“We have always maintained that Kingfisher needs
capital. Where the capital comes from, we are absolutely agnostic to it. It can
come from his (Mallya’s) group company, his personal capital, foreign money or
foreign airlines… it is better for the airline,” he said.
Corporation Bank Chairman Ajay Kumar also
maintains Kingfisher as “nothing (regarding revival of KFA) is on the table as
of now.” At present, Corporation Bank’s exposure to the financially troubled
airline stands at Rs 160 crore and classified as a non-performing asset.
A consortium of 17 banks amounts has an exposure
of about Rs 7,000 crore. SBI, the leader of the consortium, has an exposure of
Rs 1,458 crore. Most of the lenders to the grounded airline have already
classified KFA as NPA.
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