The Chinese state company CITIC is pulling out of Smartwings, according to the daily Hospodarske noviny. It writes that with turnover down by more than 80 percent, it’s unwilling to pour additional funds into the company. This may be a result of the company’s inability to borrow money from banks, despite state guarantee for nearly CZK 1 bn in loans. “It doesn’t want bankruptcy, but its willingness to provide further money is extremely small,” a source told HN. “It’s currently negotiating about the sale of its shares.” CITIC apparently took the decision at the end of June, and is trying to sell the company at pre-pandemic prices. It was back in 2015 that CITIC bought its share in Smartwings, which also owns Czech Airlines, for a reported CZK 1 billion.
