SIA’s carrying value of its Air India investment down a further S$335 million

[SINGAPORE] Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) investment in Air India has diminished by a further S$334.7 million in value over a span of six months as the beleaguered Indian airline continued to incur losses.

The Singapore corporate investor’s S$1.1 billion carrying amount of its investment in the Indian associate as at end-March declined to S$799.9 million by end-September, showed SIA’s interim financial statements published on Wednesday (Nov 11).

This was a further erosion of SIA’s carrying amount of about S$2 billion as at end-March 2025.

The reduction in investment value accounted for SIA’s share of losses from Air India based on the equity method.

Its share of Air India’s losses for the first half of FY2027 ended September amounted to S$361.7 million – S$67.8 million less than the S$429.5 million for the corresponding period in FY2026.

This, however, was not caused by shrinking red ink at the Indian airline.

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Tan JoAnn, SIA’s chief financial officer, explained at the post-earnings briefing on Thursday that the smaller losses were attributed to the reversal of provisions that SIA made in prior years. She declined to disclose the quantum of the reversal.

Under equity accounting, once the paper value of an investment hits zero, the investor stops recording those losses on its own income statement.

Air India reported a plunge in sales following the deadly crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in June 2025, the closure of Pakistani airspace to Indian carriers, and the Middle East conflict.

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SIA holds a 25.1 per cent stake in the enlarged Air India following the latter’s merger with SIA’s former associate Vistara in November 2024. Tata Sons, the holding company of India’s biggest conglomerate, owns the remaining majority stake.

SIA’s controversial Air India investment was discussed in the Singapore Parliament in September, after the Indian associate in the previous month was reported to be seeking about US$1.5 billion in fresh equity from its shareholders upon posting a record annual loss.

SIA, which does not have a domestic market, invested in Air India with the intention of gaining a toehold in the Indian market as part of its multi-hub strategy.

Goh Choon Phong, CEO of SIA, was optimistic about the potential of the aviation market in India at Thursday’s post-earnings briefing.

He noted that Air India’s frequent-flyer programme has about 10 million members. “So the question is: What then is the potential?” he asked rhetorically.

He pointed out that Air China has more than 100 million people on its frequent-flyer programme, as he compared the two most populous countries.

Goh also highlighted Air India’s new CEO Tewolde Gebremariam’s efforts to increase revenue and manage costs after taking the helm.

“Tewolde has just joined in September, so a lot of the measures that he is implementing obviously will take time to filter through.”

Gebremariam, who was formerly the group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, transformed the company into Africa’s most profitable carrier.

Meanwhile, SIA and Air India are deepening collaboration – they launched the first phase of joint initiatives in October 2026, which include additional flight options between Singapore and eight Indian cities through their respective booking channels.

The counter closed 1.1 per cent or S$0.08 up at S$7.25 on Thursday.