Malaysia’s Capital A plans separate listing for AirAsia

The aviation businesses that Capital A (formerly AirAsia Group) owns will ultimately be managed independently from the parent and listed separately on the stock market, Capital A chief executive Tony Fernandes said during a virtual news conference.

The owner of Malaysian budget carriers AirAsia (AK, Kuala Lumpur Int’l) and AirAsia X (D7, Kuala Lumpur Int’l) is itself already listed on the Bursa Malaysia exchange, but it is in the process of forming an independent board for its aviation wing while considering a separate listing for it when the passenger aviation market recovers, Fernandes outlined in the February 11 briefing.

“I think that’s up to the board at the right time when they think they need to list and raise capital independently, but definitely from Capital A’s board that is very much a plan,” he said, as quoted by Reuters.

Capital A has appointed Jamaludin Ibrahim, an IT and telecoms veteran, as non-executive chairman of AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd. A full independent board for the aviation group will be announced soon, Jamaludin told the news agency.

Capital A, which recently raised MYR974.5 million ringgit (USD233 million) in a renounceable rights issue to shareholders, aims to have all of the approximately 200 aircraft across the group’s carriers (AirAsia, AirAsia X, Indonesia AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia X, Philippines AirAsia, Thai AirAsia) back in the air within six months, Fernandes said. He added that he expects a complete recovery of the business in the fourth quarter even if China does not fully reopen its borders.

“We are anticipating China not to be fully open, but we can cover that with other territories” such as Malaysian domestic and other Southeast Asian destinations where passenger numbers are growing, he explained.

AirAsia has so far brought 45% of its fleet back to the skies, Fernandes said, while its Indonesian fleet will grow to 30 aircraft by the end of 2022. According the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, the fleet in Indonesia numbers twenty-five A320-200s, eight of which are currently active.

Meanwhile, an aviation consulting business which Capital A set up to help launch non-AirAsia-branded budget carriers outside the Asean region is currently working on two projects, the chief executive said.