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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines Berhad is reported to have requested a “massive” cash injection from the government as debt restructuring talks continue with creditors.
According to Reuters, which quoted The Edge Weekly in its report today, the national airline may be seeking up to 2.1 billion ringgit in financial aid from its sole shareholder and sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional.
Malaysia Airlines did not reveal to the weekly exactly how much cash it had requested from the government, but the report cited other sources as saying it could be this amount.
The report said that neither Malaysia Airlines nor Khazanah had responded to requests for comment from the news agency immediately.
The airline is looking to restructure after the Covid-19 pandemic forced it to downsize its struggling operations.
Reuters reported last month that Khazanah had warned leasing companies that it would stop financing the group and force it to shut down if restructuring talks with lessors failed.
Previously, Khazanah had injected billions of ringgit to keep the airline afloat.
This time around, the government has yet to commit to bailing out the struggling company, as the debate over how to save the national airline continues.
Last month, its chief executive, Izham Ismail, said in a staff memorandum that restructuring talks were taking longer than planned.
The Edge had reported that the talks were in the final stages and that their goal was to reach a trade deal in early December.
