Ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded South Africa’s Land Bank deeper into subinvestment grade after the state company missed another debt interest payment due to liquidity challenges, Reuters reported. The Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa (Land Bank), the country’s largest agricultural-focussed lender, defaulted on the loans totalling 50 billion rand ($3.01 billion in April. And in a notice on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on June 1 Land Banki said it was not in a position to meet interest payments of nearly 120 million rand.

South African state airline SA Express escaped liquidation on Tuesday after a judge granted a three-month delay in liquidation proceedings, giving the government more time to clarify its plans for the domestic and regional carrier, Reuters reported. SA Express, a different business to national flag carrier South African Airways (SAA), was placed under provisional liquidation in April after its administrators said they could not secure funding for turnaround efforts.

Creditors of South African Airways (SAA) on Monday approved another delay in the publication of a rescue plan after the cash-strapped airline’s administrators requested an extension because of an objection by trade unions, Reuters reported. The rescue plan for SAA, which has not made a profit since 2011, was due to be published on Monday. It has been repeatedly pushed back amid fierce wrangling over the airline’s future.

South Africa’s Comair , which is under bankruptcy protection, intends to halve its fleet of aircraft as part of efforts to rescue the company, its administrators said on Friday, Reuters reported. Comair, which operates the local British Airways franchise and budget airline kulula.com, filed for business rescue, a South African form of bankruptcy protection, last month after restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus forced airlines to stop flying.

South African farmers are increasingly turning to commercial lenders to top up their working capital as the Land and Agricultural Development Bank battles a liquidity crisis, Bloomberg News reported. The Land Bank, which supplies about 30% of loans in the agricultural industry, missed a loan repayment in April that triggered a cross-default provision in some of its bonds. As the state-owned lender works with its funders and National Treasury to restore its financial affairs, farmers are looking elsewhere.

South Africa’s Comair said on Tuesday it was unlikely to restart operations before November, even after the easing of restrictions on air travel, as the airline requires a substantial cash injection, Reuters reported. The company, which operates the local British Airways franchise and budget airline kulula.com, entered bankruptcy protection process last month after a nationwide coronavirus lockdown forced airlines to suspend all commercial flights.

A draft rescue plan for South African Airways (SAA) contains about 4.6 billion rand ($263.4 million) of new bailouts as part of a restructuring aimed at saving the airline from collapse, a copy of the plan showed on Monday, Reuters reported. State-owned SAA entered business rescue - a local form of bankruptcy protection - in December after almost a decade of financial losses, with its fortunes deteriorating when the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to halt all commercial passenger flights in March.

Administrators at South African Airways have asked for more time to publish a business rescue plan for the struggling state-owned airline so they can discuss new government restructuring proposals, a letter to creditors showed, Reuters reported. The administrators, who were meant to publish their plan on Friday, have asked for a new deadline of June 8 so they can consult with creditors, employees and the government. If the delay in publication is approved, they will start those talks on June 1, they said in the letter, dated May 28.

South African Airways (SAA) can still be saved if it gets the necessary funding, the state-owned airline’s administrators said on Wednesday, adding they were talking to the government about a potential restructuring, Reuters reported. The comments in a letter to affected parties seen by Reuters mark a shift in tone from a recent appearance before a parliamentary committee, when the administrators said a wind-down of the business was a probable outcome.

South African Airways (SAA) aims to resume domestic flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town from mid-June, the cash-strapped airline said on Tuesday, as coronavirus lockdown restrictions ease, Reuters reported. SAA, which is under a form of bankruptcy protection, suspended all commercial passenger flights in late March, when the government imposed one of the strictest lockdowns on the African continent.