(Yicai Global) July 2 -- Swiss aircraft-maintenance firm SR Technics, whose biggest shareholder is China's HNA Group, has become a beneficiary of the European government's first phase of guarantee credit for aviation-related businesses to overcome the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government gave SR Technics a 60-percent deficiency guarantee on a CHF120 million (USD126.8 million) bank loan, the administration said a statement yesterday.

The loan should support the daily operations of SR Technics which provides essential services that could not be quickly replaced, the statement added.

Haikou-headquartered HNA has an 80 percent stake in the Zurich Airport-based firm after its acquisition in 2016, although reportedly it was planning to sell some of its holdings last year amid its liquidity squeeze. Abu Dhabi-backed fund Mubadala Development got the remaining shares.

Founded in 1997, SR Technics has more than 3,000 employees globally.

Editor: Emmi Laine