AirAsia Group founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tony Fernandes says the pan-Asian carrier is looking into the establishment of a new holding company to contain the group's ASEAN-based units i.e. (Malaysia) AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, Philippines AirAsia, and Thai AirAsia.
According to the New Straits Times, Fernandes told a press conference this week the move would likely go ahead following the listing of AirAsia's Indonesian and Filipino affiliates, likely early next year. Thai AirAsia is not publicly-listed although its majority shareholder, Asia Aviation (AAV), is.
"This completes our Asean strategy and also will show that we are not a one-trick pony...My ultimate aim is to create an Asean-owned airline and to that extent, once we have listed all the entities, it is to create an Asean holding company which will hold 100% of all these airlines," he said.
The CEO added that although initial talks with regulators across the ASEAN bloc have already taken place, much still has to be done before the plan can be fully set in motion.
