Kingfisher in talks with foreign airlines for FDI

Debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines is in talks with foreign airlines for an equity stake in the UB (United Breweries) group, the holding company of the private carrier.

"We are in talks with some foreign airlines and investors for investing in our airlines. We are going as fast as possible," Kingfisher chairman Vijay Mallya told reporters Wednesday, ahead of the company's 17th Annual General Meeting (AGM) here.

Noting that it was only 10 days ago that the government announced the policy to allow 49 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in domestic carriers, Mallya said the discussions with potential investors could not be hurried.

"We can't go faster (than that), as it is only 10 days ago the government had announced the FDI policy in the civil aviation sector," he said.

Declining to elaborate, Mallya said, "We should respect their (overseas airlines') privacy and confidentiality."

Mallya also declined to name the foreign carriers and how much equity stake he was looking for investing in his airlines.

The loss-making private carrier is also holding talks with the consortium of banks, led by the State Bank of India (SBI), on settling the cumulative debt (about Rs.8,000 crore/$1.45 billion) it owes them.

"We will be meeting them (banks) for routine issues. We had a meeting last month and will continue to have them going forward, to address all the issues of the lenders' consortium," Mallya added.

The next meeting is scheduled Thursday in Mumbai.