All Outstanding Loans of 1.38 Trillion KRW Fully Repaid
First Successful Fundraising in Financial Market Since 2015
Asiana Airlines announced on the 26th that it has fully repaid the policy funds borrowed from Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea. This marks six years since the borrowing in 2019.
Asiana Airlines made the final repayment of the outstanding loan balance (1.38 trillion KRW) on the same day. The entire repayment amount was raised from the financial market. This is the first time in about 10 years that the company has successfully raised large-scale funds based on credit. It is interpreted as reflecting the improved financial structure following the acquisition of a 63.88% stake by Korean Air and the market’s expectations for the integrated airline.
In 2019, Asiana Airlines signed a financial support agreement totaling 1.6 trillion KRW with creditors as a condition for pursuing mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In April of the following year, due to liquidity shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, an additional 1.7 trillion KRW was supplied. In the second half of the same year, a total of 3.6 trillion KRW was supported, including 300 billion KRW from the Industrial Stabilization Fund.
Since then, through management improvement activities and shared sacrifices between labor and management, Asiana Airlines repaid a total of 1.12 trillion KRW by 2023, and last year, upon completion of the corporate merger, repaid 1.1 trillion KRW in a lump sum using the new shares subscription payment injected by Korean Air.
An Asiana Airlines official said, "This is the first time since 2015 that we have normally raised funds through credit in the financial market," adding, "We will continue efforts to improve our credit rating through enhanced financial structure and strengthened business capabilities."
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