Jet Airways on Tuesday said its aggressive overseas and domestic expansion plans are not linked with the $400-million qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue that provides cushion for buying more aircraft.

“Our expansion plan is not linked with the QIP issue. We are leasing and we are not planning to buy any more aircraft from funds raised via QIP, because we don’t want our balance sheet to weaken,” Jet Airways Chairman, Mr Naresh Goyal, told presspersons here.

He added that the QIP will be used to “repay some of our debt so that our interest payment comes down to improve the balance sheet.”

He made it clear that Jet’s aggressive fleet and route expansion plans were not linked with the QIP issue.

On relaxation of the foreign direct investment limit he said: “I don’t see any problem in QIP... Policy is very clear. We are not a foreign company. There is no question of bringing down FDI. FIPB has asked for clarification and we will take some time to reply.”

Mr Goyal, who is in Italy as part of FICCI’s CEOs delegation led by the Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, is exploring opportunities for expansion in the European market.

He said Jet Airways was looking to expand in more European cities besides Shanghai, Beijing and Manila in the coming years.

According to a senior Industry Ministry official, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board has rejected the airline’s request for a relaxation of the foreign direct investment limit of 49 per cent to raise $400 million via QIP.

The Civil Aviation Ministry had, last year, put conditions to Jet’s fund raising plan and had asked it to bring down its FDI level within the sectoral cap of 49 per cent in three years after QIP and also said the airline’s control should not be in foreign hands.

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