AirAsia Bhd, the first low-cost carrier to be listed in Southeast Asia, made a solid debut yesterday on the Malaysian stock exchange, while company officials said they'll decide within two months on plans to acquire 40 new aircraft.
Shares of Asia's best-known budget airline soared soon after its debut on Bursa Malaysia to 1.45 ringgit (US$0.38) -- 25 percent higher than the retail price of its initial public offering of 1.16 ringgit.
"Whoever believes in our company will be well-rewarded," AirAsia executive director Kamarudin Meranun told a news conference.
Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia, which has been credited with revolutionizing air travel in the region, will decide in two months whether its planned purchase of 40 new planes will come from Boeing Co or Airbus, with an option to buy 40 more, Kamarudin said.
The aircraft will bolster expansion plans for AirAsia, which now serves routes in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, but hopes to eventually fly to China, India and the Philippines.
Brokers said AirAsia opened strong in heavy trade of 97.5 million shares, as investors believed the company would remain ahead of its regional competitors. At least nine budget airlines will be operating in Southeast Asia by the end of this year.
"We'll be there in the skies of Asia, ahead of our competitors," said AirAsia Chairman Pahamin Rajab. "We have entrenched ourselves and made our brand well-known."
AirAsia's initial public offering of 700.5 million shares raised about 800 million ringgit for the airline and more than 160 million ringgit for private stake holders.
The company, which began operations in early 2002, offered 80 percent of the shares to institutions at a price of 1.25 ringgit and the rest to retail investors. Institutional investors usually pay a premium to the final retail price.
AirAsia currently operates 22 planes. It carried 1.8 million passengers last year and expects 3.2 million passengers this year, rising to 6 million next year.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
RSS