Mallya has to take proactive interest to save KF, says Moily

Bangalore, Mar 3: Corporate Affairs Minister M Veerappa Moily indicated today that the cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines was "not professionally managed" and the onus was on promoter Vijay Mallya to convince the lenders.

Asked if mismanagement was responsible for Kingfisher's troubled times and that the carrier should be allowed to fly into the sunset, Moily told reporters on the sidelines of a function: "that's not our (Government's) desire; it (Kingfisher) has to survive".

"But the only question is, you know, he (Mallya) has to take some proactive interest; he has to manage it well", he said.

"The whole difficulty with some of our airlines is that they are not professionally managed, which include Indian Airlines and Air India. I think we need to work on these things", Moily, a former Karnataka Chief Minister, said.

Noting that IndiGo was making profits, he said other airlines have to learn a lesson from that carrier and "take it forward".

Moily said Mallya also met him and he suggested "some things" to the Kingfisher Airlines Chairman. "He (Mallya) has to give a possible solution to bankers (the lenders) and also to others", he added.

The Vijay Mallya-owned airlines has a total debt of about Rs7,057 crore and accumulated losses of about Rs6,000 crore.

State Bank of India, the lead lender to Kingfisher Airlines, has said it would not consider any fresh loans for the debt-laden carrier until it raises new equity itself.

PTI