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SIA chairman tells shareholders COVID-19 situation “has not abated”
July 8th 2021
Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) chairman, Peter Seah, has told shareholders the last year was the singularly most challenging 12 months in the history of the airline. Read More » Writing in the company's annual report, lodged with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) yesterday, Seah said the coronavirus pandemic affected every part of the business and there had been little relief since it spread worldwide in February 2020. “One year on, despite the growing pace of vaccination exercises around the world, the situation has not abated," Seah said. "Successive waves of infections ripple across the world and more virulent strains [of the virus] have emerged in the course of the 12 months." Seah said SIA was the "best capitalised airline group in the world", having raised S$8.8 billion (US$6.5 billion) through a 2020 rights issue, another S$6.6 billion of fresh liquidity via secured financing, bond issuances, aircraft sale-and-leaseback transactions and S$6.2 billion through a 2021 mandatory convertible bond issuance. "The group has S$2.1 billion in committed lines of credit we also can tap and the headroom for more fundraising if necessary," Seah said. "The last year has taught us the road ahead is fraught with uncertainties and the recovery from COVID-19 will be patchy and uneven."
