by Rene Vollgraaff
South Africa’s National Treasury is working with South African Airways to ensure the company has enough liquidity to continue operating after Citigroup Inc. cancelled a short-term credit facility.
SAA will issue a statement on Tuesday that explains the impact of the cancellation, said Tlali Tlali, a spokesman for the Johannesburg-based carrier. Phumza Macanda, the Pretoria-based National Treasury’s spokeswoman, confirmed the government was working with the airline earlier on Monday.
“We confirm that Citibank has withdrawn SAA’s credit facility,” Tlali said. “We will issue a statement on Tuesday in response to this development and to enable everyone to understand what this means for SAA from a cash flow point of view.”
Citigroup on Dec. 24 cancelled a 250 million rand ($21.5 million) facility for SAA, leaving the airline without cash, Johannesburg-based Moneyweb reported, citing an internal document of the national carrier. The lender won’t reinstate the facility without a government guarantee, the website said.
