National carrier Air India?s asset monetisation plan has started attracting buyers. The State Bank of India (SBI) has written to AI officials stating that it is interested in taking four floors on rent at its corporate headquarters at Nariman Point in Mumbai.
According to sources, though SBI has not indicated in the letter the rental and the tenure of the lease, it has said that it was willing to match the highest bid if there are other contenders.
The carrier is considering to shift its base from Mumbai to Delhi primarily to reduce the cost of travelling by employees and also to get extra revenue from the asset monetisation through which it plans to raise about R5,000 crore over 10 years. The company board in May had approved the plans to monetise assets to repay loans extended to it by the government and it lenders.
The airline is in the process of appointing real estate agents for the same. The company board is meeting again on Friday to discuss these matters.
The board members are also expected to take a call on the bridge financing for its four Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The airline is trying to raise around $500 million for bridge financing the purchase of four Boeing 787 aircraft. It had floated a tender earlier and secured bridge financing of $195 million from Standard Chartered for the first three Boeing 787s.
The carrier is also likely to finalise the dates for issuing the non convertible debentures (NCDs) worth R7,400 crore. The government has already agreed to give guarantee for the issue.