Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has named a new captain to pilot the company in its recovery path. PAL announced yesterday the appointment of its senior vice president for airline operations Stanley Ng as the company’s new president and chief operating officer (COO), in an acting or officer-in-charge capacity, the Philippine Star reported. Ng replaces Gilbert Santa Maria, who served as the airline’s president and COO during PAL’s Chapter 11 restructuring process which the company completed last year. PAL did not disclose the reason why Santa Maria was replaced.
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The Philippines’ central bank is unlikely to increase policy rates in the first half of this year as it waits for the economic recovery to become entrenched and unemployment to fall, according to central bank Governor Benjamin Diokno, Bloomberg News reported. “After the performance in the first two quarters of the year, that’s when we seriously look at whether we will make some adjustments,” Diokno said in an interview Tuesday. “We want to make sure that the economy is recovering well.” Like central bankers globally, Southeast Asian policy makers are juggling the prospects of a faster U.S.
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Philippine Airlines Inc. received approval to tap $150 million in additional financing and plans to cut its debt by $2 billion, after winning approval last month from a U.S. court for its reorganization plan, Bloomberg News reported. “There are immense challenges ahead, but we look forward to tackling them as a reinvigorated Philippine Airlines, better positioned for strategic growth to continue serving our customers,” President Gilbert Santa Maria said in an emailed statement Friday.
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Philippine Airlines Inc. won court approval for its reorganisation plan, paving the way for the carrier to exit bankruptcy, cut $2 billion in debt and revive its fortunes after a slump in international travel due to the pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman in Manhattan said on Friday that she would approve the chapter 11 plan after unsecured creditors voted to back the proposal. The reorganization didn’t face any major opposition from debt holders. "This case is a model for what can be accomplished in chapter 11,” Chapman said.
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Philippine Airlines Inc. received U.S. court approval to access a $505m debtor-in-possession financing, which is core to its restructuring plan, Bloomberg News reported. “This important step confirms that our recovery process is on track,” Philippine Air President Gilbert Santa Maria said in a statement. Getting full access to the long-term equity and debt financing will give the Lucio Tan-led airline additional liquidity to meet obligations and continue operating as usual.
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Philippine Airlines, Inc. (PAL) said on Tuesday that it has filed a petition before a Pasay City court seeking recognition of the proceedings and decisions of a U.S. bankruptcy court hearing its chapter 11 case, BusinessWorld reported. “The recognition petition filed by PAL before a local court is a petition which aims to ensure that the Philippine legal system recognizes all proceedings and decisions rendered by the foreign court handling the Chapter 11 case,” PAL Spokesperson Cielo C. Villaluna said in a statement sent to BusinessWorld.
Philippine Airlines has pledged 15 aircraft, replacement engines and frequent flyer miles as collateral to secure loans needed as part of its ongoing restructuring process, ch-aviation.com reported. This is according to a Sept. 17, 2021, notice of filings of additional restructuring support agreements (RSA) between Philippine Airlines and various counterparties with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, where the airline is in voluntary chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings aimed at paring off USD2.1 billion of its USD6 billion in debts.
Eric Teng was preparing to welcome his restaurants’ first dine-in customers in weeks on Wednesday when the Philippine government suddenly backtracked on its decision to ease virus curbs, Bloomberg News reported. “It’s unacceptable, but we have to live by these overnight declarations,” said Teng, who runs a group of restaurants including Mango Tree and Cocina Peruvia in Manila. “That’s a live-or-die statement for us.
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Philippine Airlines Inc. expects to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy before the end of the year, with a leaner fleet and fewer destinations as a recovery in travel demand isn’t likely in the next few years, President Gilbert Santa Maria said, Bloomberg News reported. Majority owned by billionaire Lucio Tan, the carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York on Sept. 3 with a lender-supported plan to help it recover after the pandemic devastated global travel.
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The Philippine central bank held its key interest rate steady for a sixth straight meeting, with the bank’s chief warning that lingering lockdowns to stem the spread of Covid-19 are threatening the economy’s recovery, Bloomberg News reported. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas left the benchmark rate at 2% Thursday, as all 19 analysts in a Bloomberg survey predicted. “The reimposition of quarantine measures to arrest the recent wave of Covid-19 infections could pose a risk to the ongoing economic recovery,” Governor Benjamin Diokno said at a briefing in Manila.
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