SINGAPORE |
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - AirAsia X, the long-haul affiliate of Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia (AIRA.KL), hopes to list shares by next year so that it will be easier to raise funds for expansion, AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes said on Tuesday."An airline cannot grow capital without being public, and so most definitely AirAsia X will be listed, I hope, this year or next year," Fernandes told Reuters on the sidelines of a corporate event in Singapore.
His remarks come after the Malaysian carrier's Thai and Indonesian affiliates Thai AirAsia and PT Air Asia Indonesia earlier this month announced plans to launch initial public offerings later this year. Fernandes had said previously he planned to list AirAsia X but without providing a timeframe. AirAsia X currently flies from Malaysia to China, Australia, Taiwan, India, Iran, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, France and Britain.
The carrier last month placed an order for more Airbus A330-200 aircraft, bringing the total to 28. AirAsia earlier on Tuesday announced a tie-up with U.S.-based Expedia Inc (EXPE.O), the world's largest online travel booking company, to sell flights, hotel stays and holiday packages in the Asia-Pacific region. The joint venture will have exclusive rights to sell AirAsia flights online, helping Expedia differentiate itself from Asian online providers such as Asiatravel.com (ATVE.SI) and Zuji, which is part of Sabre Holdings. AirAsia is Southeast Asia's biggest budget carrier.Fernandes said AirAsia plans to further enlarge its Southeast Asian presence by launching AirAsia Philippines in August, and a Vietnam affiliate thereafter.
(Reporting by Walter Sim)
