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AirAsia Philippines a 'diamond in the rough,' to 'wait a bit' for IPO: Fernandes

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Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/11/25/aa.jpg"/><figcaption>An AirAsia plane is seen in this handout photo. Southeast Asia&#x27;s largest budget carrier will wait for a &quot;fair&quot; valuation before listing shares of its Philippine unit, group CEO Tony Fernandes said on Nov. 22, 2019</figcaption></figure></div>KUALA LUMPUR — AirAsia will wait for a &quot;fair&quot; valuation before listing shares of its Philippine unit, whose second quarter net income grew eight-fold, group CEO Tony Fernandes said.The Philippines&#x27; strategic location makes it a &quot;diamond in the rough&quot; and AirAsia Philippines should not sell itself cheap, Fernandes told reporters here, after Southeast Asia&#x27;s biggest low-cost carrier received its first Airbus A321neo.&quot;We’ll wait until we get a fair valuation. It’s our first year of good profitability so we’ll wait a bit,&quot; Fernandes said.The Philippines was AirAsia’s &quot;problem child&quot; for a while because &quot;the first few airlines [there] did their best to make sure we didn’t do well,&quot; he said. &quot;I’ve always said the Philippines is our diamond in the rough because it sits in the border of China, Korea and Taiwan; and is a great connector to the east coast of America,&quot; he said.Asked if the initial public offering could be made next year, Fernandes said: &quot;I don’t think we can commit to a timeline. Let’s see how results go.&quot;<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/11/25/tony.jpg"/><figcaption>AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes speaks to reporters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Nov. 22, 2019. Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>AirAsia is looking at a $600-million valuation for an initial public offering, Reuters reported in October. Weak markets and volatile oil prices had postponed plans for the carrier to go public since 2015, in a bid to raise $200 million or around P10.1 billion. AirAsia credited the 22-percent increase in passengers carried in the Philippines for the eight-fold increase in net income after tax in the May to June period, the airline reported earlier.AirAsia Philippines outperformed the AirAsia Group, whose net income during the same period <a href="https://newsroom.airasia.com/news/airasia-group-berhad-second-quarter-2019-financial-results?format=amp">fell 85 percent</a> due to losses from its India unit and the cost of building its subsidiary, RedBeat Ventures. AirAsia Group last week took delivery of the first of its order for 353 Airbus A3321neo jets that would allow it to <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/22/19/airasia-receives-first-airbus-jet-with-bigger-capacity">fly more passengers with less fuel</a>. The carrier’s Philippine unit is “concretizing plans to purchase an 321neo that will “bring opportunities for us to offer even lower fares,” said its CEO, Ricky Isla.&quot;We&#x27;ve made travel more affordable... Travel has become a necessity. People want to have holidays, people want to migrate for work,&quot; said Fernandes.AirAsia rival Cebu Pacific received in January its first A321neo. The Philippines’ largest carrier will see &quot;<a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/01/31/19/cebu-pacific-looks-to-next-stage-of-expansion-with-new-airbus-jets">accelerated growth</a>&quot; with the arrival of 12 new aircraft including 6 Airbus A321neo, 5 A320neo and one ATR 72-600, Cebu Pacific president Lance Gokongwei said.

AirAsia will wait for a "fair" valuation before listing shares of its Philippine unit, whose second quarter net income grew eight-fold, group CEO Tony Fernandes said.

AirAsia will wait for a "fair" valuation before listing shares of its Philippine unit, whose second quarter net income grew eight-fold, group CEO Tony Fernandes said.

AirAsia Philippines a 'diamond in the rough,' to 'wait a bit' for IPO: Fernandes

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AirAsia Philippines a 'diamond in the rough,' to 'wait a bit' for IPO: Fernandes

Jamaine Punzalan,

ABS-CBN News

Published November 25, 2019 09:12 AM PHT

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Updated November 25, 2019 10:47 AM PHT

Read More:

transportation

travel

AirAsa

air travel

IPO

initial public offering

Tony Fernandes

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