Canada pledges S$401m loan to Bombardier for jet programmes

Montreal

THE Canadian government on Tuesday announced C$372.5 million (S$401.1 million) in repayable loans for two of Bombardier Inc's jet programmes, promising to defend the deal against a potential trade challenge by Brazil.

While the aid was far less than the US$1 billion sought by the Canadian plane and train maker, chief executive officer Alain Bellemare called it the right level of support, saying the company's financial situation had improved.

The interest-free loans, which come from a Canadian aerospace and defence fund targeting research and development projects, will be used for Bombardier's new CSeries jet and the Global 7000 business jet. The contributions will be provided over four years with the majority allocated to the Global 7000 prog…