DALLAS — Cathay Pacific Airways (CX) has announced it will repurchase the remaining 50% of the preference shares granted to the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on July 31.

The airline added that it would settle any outstanding preference share dividends till that date, totaling HK$2.44 billion (US$312.3 million) in preference share dividends paid to the Hong Kong SAR Government during its holding term.

The preference shares were given to the government of Hong Kong in 2020 as a part of the financing for the group's recapitalization. CX is repurchasing a share for HK$9.75 billion (US$1.25 billion).

The buy back includes the termination of Aviation 2020’s right to appoint CX Board observers. The Board is confident that this redemption will not adversely affect the Group’s financial position.

Last week, CX released the traffic figures for May 2024, which showed a positive growth from the previous years. CX and its subsidiary HK Express (UO) surpassed the 10 million mark for passengers carried during the first five months of 2024.