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AirAsia Philippines ‘hopes’ IPO to push through this year
SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Budget carrier AirAsia Philippines intends to go ahead with an initial public offering this year once regulatory requirements has been addressed, a top official of the company said here Thursday.
“I would hope so. A lot of it is out of my hands ... I hope it will be this year,” AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes told reporters in an interview.
AirAsia Inc. started operating in the Philippines in 2012 and merged with Zest Airways Inc. in October 2015, with Philippines AirAsia Inc. emerging from the merger deal.
The company earlier announced plans to have its shares listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) via an IPO.
Fernandes noted one of the major causes of the delay was regulatory procedures in the Philippines.
“We are in the process of going through all the regulatory issues with the PSE, we need some clearances from the board,” he said.
In the same interview, Fernandes said the company could make more than $250 million from its maiden share sale, mainly to fund more flights and destinations—local and overseas.
“I hope it will be more than 250 (million dollars). We’re doing very well in the Philippines right now,” he said.
“We’re now at the crossroads. We had a very tough time, we had a baptism of fire when we came in here ... Now we’ve crossed over that, that made us tougher, smarter, and we’re now in a good position,” he said.
In all of the AirAsia’s overseas operations, Fernandes noted the Philippines is the only market where the company is not listed.
Fernandes said he is bullish about the company’s Philippine operations.
“Philippines is probably the best kept secret. There’s so much to see, so many places to go, but the connectivity is poor,” he said. —VDS, GMA News
