Singapore Airlines says India investments have been and will remain internally funded

The group has less than S$3 billion in current debt obligations – those due within 12 months – which are well covered by its cash reserves, the spokesperson said. SIA’s debt largely comprises fixed-rate notes, lease liabilities and loans.

“SIA also has access to S$3.24 billion in committed lines of credit, all of which remains undrawn,” the spokesperson said, adding that any requests for additional capital would be evaluated under the group’s capital allocation framework, taking into account Air India’s business strategy, SIA Group’s operating cash flow and its own investment requirements for new aircraft and products.

“The Air India investment receives the full attention of the SIA board,” the spokesperson added.

SIA had also said in a statement in 2022, when it and Tata Sons announced the merger of Air India and Vistara, saying it would fully fund the investment with internal cash resources.

Scrutiny over the investment has grown since a Reuters report last month cited sources as saying that Air India is seeking a further US$1.5 billion in support from owners Tata Sons and SIA, just months after it posted a record annual loss.

Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow told parliament on Tuesday that SIA’s ability to serve Singaporeans is not affected by its investment in Air India. 

The airline is “nowhere near” a scenario where losses or other factors have materially constrained the resources available for its fleet maintenance or network operations here, he said.

Senior Minister K Shanmugam said on Sep 5 that police are looking into racist and xenophobic online comments about SIA’s investment in Air India, as well as the Nepal-Tibet disaster.