SAA wins extension to file accounts in Hong Kong

SAA has been granted a three-week extension to submit financial statements to Hong Kong or risk losing the Asian route.

Johannesburg - South African Airways said on Monday it has been granted a three-week extension to submit financial statements to Hong Kong or risk losing the lucrative Asian route.

The state-owned carrier, which has failed to publish annual statements for the past two years and is in danger of defaulting on its debt, was initially given a September 6 deadline by Hong Kong.

The deadline has now been pushed back to September 30, SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali said.

“We are confident that we will meet all outstanding requirements. It is extremely unlikely that SAA's service on this route will be terminated,” Tlali said.

Marred by controversy and financial mismanagement, the airline has been surviving on state guarantees of around R14.4 billion ($1 billion) and has been singled out amongst other state companies by ratings agencies as a major risk to the country's investment grade status.

Its results for 2015/16 have been held back by the Treasury's refusal to grant the loss-making carrier R5 billion in additional guarantees.

In a newspaper notice last week, the airline said it planned to raise R16 billion from lenders.

The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, said on Monday it planned to challenge Friday's re-appointment of Dudu Myeni as SAA's chairwoman, accusing her of being responsible for the crisis at their airline.

REUTERS