Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says his government has rejected a request from Qantas Airways for a 3 billion Australian dollar ($2.7 billion) unsecured loan to help the national carrier return to profitability.
Cabinet ministers on Monday decided against proving Qantas with a debt facility, and instead agreed to relax foreign ownership restrictions which impede the airline's ability to raise capital.
Abbott told Macquarie Radio on Wednesday that his ministers had acted on expert advice that Qantas did not need the requested line of credit.
The Cabinet meeting followed the former state-owned airline last week posting a first-half loss of AU$235 million amid tougher competition. Qantas and said it would cut 5,000 jobs in a bid to cut costs by AU$2 billion over three
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
