Cathay Pacific shareholders approve government-led bailout

With COVID back in Hong Kong base, outlook bleak despite $5bn aid package

Cathay Hong Kong Express 20200713

Hong Kong Express, Cathay Pacific's low-cost unit, recently said it would resume service in August but a new outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong may put this plan in doubt. © Reuters

KENJI KAWASE, Nikkei Asian Review chief business news correspondent

HONG KONG -- Shareholders of Cathay Pacific Airways have overwhelmingly approved a government-led $5 billion bailout of the airline, but the carrier still faces strong headwinds with its operating base of Hong Kong facing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.

The package of equity and debt support worth 39 billion Hong Kong dollars from the city's government and the carrier's major shareholders will provide a breather for the ailing airline. Cathay has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic on the heels of months of antigovernment protests in Hong Kong last year.

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