Malaysia’s Capital A Berhad said Monday it will push through with the initial public offering (IPO) of AirAsia Philippines, after acquiring full ownership of the company.
Capital A said it achieved 100-percent ownership of AirAsia Philippines and will raise funds through a potential IPO in the near term to fund its aggressive expansion.
The Romero family led by Michael and Shiela Romero earlier announced the sale of their 60-percent stake in AirAsia to AA Com Travel Philippines Inc., while Capital A, formerly AirAsia Group Berhad, owns the remaining 40 percent. AA Com Travel is also owned by Capital A.
Air Asia’s Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes earlier pledged to invest $1 billion for the expansion of their operations in the Philippines. The company plans to grow its aircraft from 23 to 50 including wide-body aircraft.
AirAsia Philippines earlier reported that its passenger traffic increased 35 percent to 1.64 million in the third quarter of 2023 from 1.21 million in the same period last year.
AirAsia Philippines posted a 368-percent year-on-year (YoY) increase to more than 354,000 international passengers. Load factor was at 92 percent, up by 4 percentage points from 89 percent last year.
AirAsia Philippines operates daily flights from Manila to Bacolod, Cebu, Cagayan, Davao, Iloilo, Kalibo, Caticlan (Boracay), Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Tagbilaran and Zamboanga. Other inter island destinations flying out of AirAsia’s Cebu hub include Cagayan, Davao, Caticlan, Puerto Princesa and Clark.
Its active international destinations include Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Bangkok, Singapore, Taipei, Osaka, Incheon, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Bali.