SBI hopeful of KFA coming up with 'tangible' plans

Mumbai: Lead lender to Kingfisher Airlines, State Bank, on Monday expressed the hope that its Chairman Vijay Mallya will come up with "something tangible" for its revival in the wake of liberalisation in FDI in the sector.

"We are quite hopeful ... we are waiting for a mutually convenient date and I think to my mind he (Mallya) will come up only when there is something tangible," SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhury told reporters in Mumbai.

The negotiations have to be conducted in greater confidentiality and with some patience as it is not an investment alone, it is the valuation in the price, he said.

"But if you see the stock prices of aviation companies, including Kingfisher, going up, which obviously is indicative of higher interest from the foreign aviation companies," he said.

SBI, the leader of the 17-member consortium, has an exposure of Rs 1,500 crore to Kingfisher Airlines. Earlier it had termed this as an NPA. Banks together have an exposure of nearly Rs 7,000 crore in the airline which have all become non-performing assets since January.

"At one point it (Kingfisher) looked absolutely hopeless. It looks relatively better (now). But still we do not have definite pointers to that. But it is a very good name, from all accounts. (In) UB Group, Mallya is very keen to retain control because his entire branding, entire image revolves around Kingfisher, lot of his products are named around

Kingfisher," Chaudhury said.

Earlier, the lenders consortium had asked Mallya to personally make a presentation on turnaround plan. They had also asked HDFC Securities to do a valuation of property belonging to the promoters in Mumbai.

"We think they will do everything possible, including big sacrifices, to keep that name going. And we have his personal guarantee which shows his commitment and the UB group, in itself, from its liquor business, from its other unrelated business, can unlock a lot of cash which we think would be deployed here. And aviation is a high capital business so only companies with deep pockets can sustain," he added.