By Kevin Dougherty
MONTREAL, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The Quebec government said on
Monday its $1 billion investment in a partnership with
Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO that is aimed at completing the
company's CSeries jet program will be financed through the
government's annual borrowing program.
Bombardier's CSeries passenger jet program is already years
late and billions of dollars over budget. In October, the
government in Bombardier's home province Quebec said it would
invest $1 billion in the CSeries program in return for a near 50
percent stake in the struggling project.
In October, Quebec said that the investment would come from
its Economic Development Fund and that it would be managed by
Investissement Québec - one the province's investment vehicles.
Quebec's economic development minister Jacques Daoust told
Reuters on Monday that the pool of capital within Investissement
Québec is not sufficient to cover the entire investment and that
the province's investment in the joint venture will be funded by
tapping the market.
The province has also indicated it would urge the federal
government to also make some form of investment in the CSeries.
Daoust said that "there is room in the venture for federal
funding."
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Bombardier
must make a "strong business case," in order to win any federal
investment.
"I also required a good business case," Daoust said, adding
that abandoning the CSeries, whose initial aircraft variant is
slated to be certified by the end of this year, would be like
giving up a 42-kilometre marathon after 40 kilometres.
Bombardier's narrow-body line of CSeries are set to compete
against Boeing (N:BA) Co's BA.N 737 aircraft and Airbus Group (PA:AIR)'s A319
and A320 jets. Bombardier has so far received 243 firm orders
for the 110-130-seat narrowbody jets, but it is still short of
its target of 300 firm orders by the time the plane enters
service next year.
(Writing and additional reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by
Andrew Hay)