Thailand's Ministry of Finance intends to invest another THB12 billion baht (USD325.5 million) in Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) by October 2024 and aims to relist the company on the Stock Exchange of Thailand by mid-2025.
The director general of the Finance Ministry's State Enterprise Policy Office, Tibordee Wattanakul, told the Bangkok Post that Thai's financial performance had improved dramatically due to reductions in expenses, improvements in operational efficiencies, and a strengthening local currency.
Thai Airways is in the final stages of a court-supervised business rehabilitation that involves shareholders recapitalising the carrier. The Finance Ministry will retain a stake of around 40% in the airline, with majority control passing from the government to the private sector. The plan for the capital injection and relisting on the stock market is subject to approval from the supervising court. This approval is expected to be granted later this year.
Tibordee said the funding from the ministry would come from the 2025 fiscal budget and the Vayupak Fund, a state-owned sovereign wealth fund.
Thai Airways recently announced a first-quarter net profit of THB2.423 billion (USD65.9 million), 78.9% down on the comparable 2023 quarter, attributed to unused aircraft impairment costs, higher operating costs, and a weak baht. At the time, CEO Chai Eamsiri said the lower profit would not impact the company's overall operations, expansion, or rehabilitation plan.
According to ch-aviation PRO airlines data, Thai Airways presently operates a fleet of twenty A320-200s, three A330-300s, twenty-three ACV!A35000s, five B777-200ERs, seventeen B777-300ERs, six B787-8s, and three B787-9s, with which it flies to 64 destinations in 29 countries.
