Australia rejects Qantas’ request for multi-billion dollar loan
Prime Minister Tony Abbott says advice from accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers lead to decision to deny funds to national carrier
The Australian government has rejected a request from Qantas Airways for a A$3 billion (HK$21 billion) unsecured loan to help the national carrier return to profitability, the prime minister said on Wednesday.
Cabinet ministers on Monday decided against providing Qantas with a debt facility, and instead agreed to relax foreign ownership restrictions which impede the airline’s ability to raise capital.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Wednesday that his ministers had acted on expert advice from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to decide that Qantas did not need the requested line of credit.
“You would never in a fit lend anyone A$3 billion on an unsecured basis without doing what’s called due diligence on that person,” Abbott told Macquarie Radio.
“Qantas does not need an unsecured facility from the government.”
“So we sent in various experts to have a look at Qantas, and the conclusion that we came to based on their advice was that Qantas does not need an unsecured facility from the government,” he said.