AirAsia Group is planning to enter the Chinese market by partnering an unspecified Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE) informed sources have told Reuters.
According to the report, the budget carrier is talking to Chinese banks and potential shareholders including China Everbright Bank. AirAsia China would seek to tap traffic from fast-growing secondary and tertiary Chinese cities and funnel through the Group's main Kuala Lumpur International hub for onward connections throughout Asia as well as south to Australia.
To that end, AirAsia Group is also looking at a dual listing in Hong Kong to help increase its footprint in the Northeast Asian market.
Group founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tony Fernandes, has said China contributes nearly 40% of the group's revenues.
AirAsia's mainline subsidiaries include AirAsia (Malaysia), AirAsia India (Bengaluru International), AirAsia Japan (Nagoya Chubu), Indonesia AirAsia (QZ, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta), Philippines AirAsia (Z2, Manila Ninoy Aquino International), and Thai AirAsia (FD, Bangkok Don Mueang).
