KUALA LUMPUR :Capital A Bhd , which owns Malaysia’s flagship budget airline AirAsia, is forming an independent board for its aviation arm while mulling a separate listing of the business as the market recovers, its chief said on Friday.
Capital A Chief Executive Tony Fernandes told reporters in a virtual briefing that all companies under the group, including the airline, would be managed independently, and that the parent group intends for the airline to list.
“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.
The group appointed a veteran from the telecoms industry, Jamaludin Ibrahim, as the non-executive chairman of AirAsia Aviation Group Limited, who said the full independent board would be announced soon.
Fernandes said the group aims to get all its 200 planes flying in six months, expecting a full recovery of the business in the fourth quarter even if China, which contributes high tourist numbers, does not reopen borders fully.
“We are anticipating China not to be fully open, but we can cover that with other territories,” Fernandes said, pointing to the growing number of travellers domestically and within Southeast Asia.Read more
