Alitalia risks bankruptcy if capital isn't increased

[ROME] Loss-making Italian airline Alitalia risks having to file for bankruptcy if no deal on a proposed capital increase is reached in a couple of weeks, a government source said yesterday.

Alitalia needs about 500 million euros (S$848 million) to keep going and invest in a new turnaround strategy, analysts have said, after accumulating losses of more than one billion euros and debt of a similar size since being privatised in 2009.

Its shareholders will vote on a capital increase of at least 100 million euros on Oct 14 to help keep the company in business.