Air India to raise Rs 22,000 cr through bonds, to help repay debts

Air India Assets Holdings Ltd (AIAHL) - a special purpose vehicle of national carrier Air India - is planning to raise the amount by issuing bonds with different tenures

Air India Assets Holdings (AIAHL), a special purpose vehicle of national carrier Air India, will issue bonds worth Rs 22,000 crore in the coming weeks, with the first tranche worth Rs 7,000 crore set to hit the market on September 16, according to a senior official.
 
It is planning to raise the amount by issuing bonds with different tenures.
 
As part of efforts to clean up the balance sheet of Air India, which has a debt burden of more than Rs 58,000 crore, little over half of the amount is to be repaid by way of proceeds from the issuance of bonds by AIAHL.

The official said AIAHL would issue bonds worth Rs 7,000 crore on September 16. These bonds would have a tenure of three years and three months. Banks and mutual funds are expected to participate in the first tranche of the bond offering, the official said. AIAHL would issue 10-year bonds worth Rs 15,000 crore in the coming weeks. The proceeds from the bond offering would be used to repay debt, he said.
 
Pilot under ED scanner
 
Senior Air India pilot Atul Chandra, who was called back from deputation from the DGCA, has come under the ED scanner for alleged financial irregularities, a source said on Thursday. The ED has sought documents from Air India regarding financial transactions by Chandra after receiving a complaint against him in June.