The State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo) expects Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) to relist on the Stock Exchange of Thailand next year, says Tibordee Wattanakul, director-general of Sepo.
He said the liquidity of the national flag carrier has improved.
Operations are moving in accordance with its rehabilitation plan, with a target to relist on the bourse in 2025.
However, this is conditional on achieving a 12-month profit and posting positive equity.
The Finance Ministry said it has no plan for the company to resume as a state enterprise, while maintaining less than a 50% share in the ailing national carrier.
However, the state is still the majority shareholder of the company.
Mr Tibordee said THAI's financial performance is improving under the rehabilitation programme as the company streamlined its operations by cutting back on expenses, including halving its workforce and downsizing its fleet by about 40% through leasing.
The aviation industry suffered greatly during the pandemic that lasted more than two years. THAI was among the casualties.
The Central Bankruptcy Court approved a recovery plan in September 2020 after the pandemic grounded most of its fleet as borders gradually closed, grinding air travel to a halt.
THAI's total liabilities tallied 200 billion baht as of Sept 30, 2020.
The airline fought for its life by adopting drastic internal restructuring and implementing survival measures including finding additional revenue from unrelated business such as selling food by THAI Catering, transport of goods, parcels and postage, and the sale of unused assets.
Revenue was expected to resume as the pandemic subsided in the middle of 2022.
In the second quarter of 2023, the carrier posted a profit of nearly 2.3 billion baht, a 20-year high, up by 171% year-on-year.
The airline is expected to exit rehabilitation by the fourth quarter this year.
The rebounding tourism sector plays a vital role in aviation's recovery.
According to an announcement by the Fiscal Policy Office on Jan 24, foreign tourists, mainly from China and Malaysia, are forecast to reach 33.5 million this year, up from 28 million in 2023, marking a 19.6% increase.
Tourism revenue is estimated at 1.48 trillion baht, up 23.6% from last year.
