May 13, 20206 yr From South China Morning Post Qatar Airways, the third-largest shareholder in Cathay Pacific, said it was willing to provide an equity injection into Hong Kong’s financially battered flagship carrier if approached. “Cathay is a well-established company and as a shareholder, if Cathay Pacific were to approach us for an equity injection, we will definitely support them,” Al Baker, Group CEO of the Doha-based carrier, told the Post. Qatar said it was in a position to help, despite being hit hard by the collapse in global air travel demand. The airline holds a 9.99 per cent stake in Cathay and previously expressed interest in raising its holding, but has been restricted by the limited volume of publicly traded shares. Cathay’s two main shareholders are Swire Pacific and Air China, which hold a 45 per cent and 29.99 per cent stake each. One way for Cathay to bolster liquidity could be to issue new shares. In March, Singapore Airlines issued US$3.8 billion in new shares as part of a wider US$13 billion cash-raising exercise. Cathay said in March it had HK$20 billion (US$2.58 billion) in unrestricted liquidity and subsequently raised HK$5.45 billion in the sale and leaseback of six Boeing 777 planes. The airline said its strong vendor relations, liquidity position and “the availability of sources of funds” meant it would remain a going concern.
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