Fastjet to raise funds as African aviation market remains tough

(Reuters) - African budget carrier Fastjet Plc (FJET.L) said it needed to raise further funds to have sufficient working capital and implement changes as its operations had remained cash negative in a challenging domestic aviation market.

London-listed shares in the company, which has seen the departure of two top executives under pressure from its second-largest investor, were down about 25 percent at 22.94 pence at 0719 GMT.

Fastjet said on Tuesday it had started the initial phases of a fund-raising exercise, which it planned to complete in July.

(Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)