BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s bankruptcy court said on Monday it had scheduled two more days of hearings to consider Thai Airways International Pcl’s <THAI.BK> request for restructuring.
The Central Bankruptcy Court said in a statement 16 creditors opposed the airline’s restructuring proposals, of which three were institutional creditors and the rest, individual creditors.
The court scheduled Aug. 20 and Aug. 25 for additional hearings for those opposing the plan.
Thai Airways acting president, however, remained confident after the first hearing on Monday.
“The hearings are promising and went smoothly,” Chansin Treenuchagron said in a statement. The airline submitted its bankruptcy and restructuring petition in May, giving it a stay on debt repayment.
Minority creditors opposing the plan was not troubling because their objections were issues that Thai Airways could clarify, he said, without giving details.
The court will have to approve the airline’s request for restructuring and a committee that would lay out the plan.
Thai Airways said on Monday it had nominated a committee of seven – including the company’s chairman and acting president, former President Piyasvasti Amranand, veteran banker Boontuck Wungcharoen and EY Corporate Advisory Services Company Limited – to plan the company’s restructuring.
Chansin said the airline had support from major creditors, including the Ministry of Finance, which together account for more than 50% of its debt.
The Thai government holds a 47.86% stake in the airline.
After the court approves its restructuring proposals, the airline said it will take one to two months to develop its plan before presenting it to creditors.
Thai Airways told shareholders last month it was confident the court would accept its request.
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Tom Hogue and David Evans)
