According to sources close to AirAsia, the Malaysian-based carrier is looking to start a joint venture in China and become a pan-Asian low-cost carrier (LCC).
Chief executive officer of AirAsia and its co-founder confirmed that AirAsia is looking at dual listings earlier on Twitter, but didn’t reveal their location. He posted the following on his social media account:
Looking at more ancillary (revenues), more capacity and dual listing.
According to one source, AirAsia is having talks with potential shareholders and Chinese banks such as China Everbright Bank. China accounts to almost 40 per cent of all of AirAsia Group revenue. However, according to Mr Fernandes:
There is still a lot to do in AirAsia… and important long-haul market.
AirAsia CEO also said he wants to make the airline an LCC giant with one-stop connections primarily from the base in Malaysia.
A person familiar with the matter said the following about this:
It is a huge business opportunity – use low-cost to build another Dubai.
A potential HK listing could go a long way to help the Malaysian airline to boost its profile and raise more capital. The company has rallied fast following the last year when its share price dropped due to negative reports regarding its finances.
China is quickly overtaking the West as the main aviation market, despite the recent slowing economic growth. In addition, as Fernandes said, demand from China had recovered.
AirAsia also sees strong demand from Japan and South Korea markets.
The airline is operating over 220 daily flights to and from its main hub in Kuala Lumpur and connects to more than 100 destinations in 24 different countries.
AirAsia to Buy 100 A321neo Jets
At the same time, AirAsia is reportedly buying 100 aircraft from the French manufacturer Airbus. These will be Airbus A321neos and each has a list price of $125.7 million.
These will most likely be used to improve AirAsia’s services to India. At the moment, AirAsia India owns six A320s and its air travel has grown by 20 per cent in 2015.
Mr Fernandes, AirAsia Group issued the following comment when asked whether his company intends to buy the A321neo jetliners:
It’s early days but certainly in the ballpark. It’s certainly something we will discuss.
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