AirAsia plans to list Thai unit in 2nd quarter

KUALA LUMPUR—Malaysia-based AirAsia, Asia’s biggest budget air carrier, hopes to raise up to $200 million by listing its Thai unit by the second quarter of this year, a company official said Thursday.

“We hope to raise up to $200 million through the IPO. It will be used for expansion and the purchase of aircraft,” said Aireen Omar, AirAsia’s head of corporate finance. “We hope to list in the second quarter of this year.”

She said an application to list 750 million shares on the Thai bourse had been submitted to authorities in Thailand last month.

AirAsia has grown rapidly since former record industry executive Tony Fernandes bought the failing airline in 2001.

Its route system has spread throughout Asia and beyond, and the company has set up subsidiaries in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, and is planning one to serve Japan’s budget market.

The company first announced in late 2010 that it planned to list Thai AirAsia by the end of 2011 but the plan was delayed amid adverse market conditions.

In December, AirAsia also said that it would postpone the listing of its Indonesian unit until sometime in 2012 due to the global economic downturn.

Thai AirAsia currently serves several cities in Thailand with a fleet of two dozen aircraft.