AirAsia X (D7, Kuala Lumpur International) Chief Executive Officer Benyamin Ismail has confirmed his airline and sister carrier AirAsia (AK, Kuala Lumpur International) have considered the possibility of privatization following a torrid year on the Malaysian stock exchange.

“If you look on, as a shareholder, the valuation of the company is very cheap at the moment, it is very good to take it private,” Benyamin told Bloomberg news. "However, at the moment, it's not on the cards."

Last year, AirAsia Group founder and CEO Tony Fernandes and long-time business partner Kamarudin Meranun reportedly attempted to co-opt a management-led buyout of the Group using financing sourced from local banks. Though the report was subsequently rejected as untrue, rumours about the Group's possible privatization have continued to abound culminating late last year when AirAsia posted a MYR405.7 million (USD92.5 million) loss for its third quarter. In total, AirAsia Group stock lost 65% of its value last year blamed largely on the fatal crash of Indonesia AirAsia (QZ, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) flight QZ8501, increased competition, and a weaker Ringgit.

AirAsia Group has since announced plans to raise as much as USD1 billion through a multi-currency medium-term note program to refinance debt and buy aircraft. For its part, despite having posted losses for the last eight consecutive quarters, AirAsia X was recently able to raise USD89.1 million through the issuance of 1.78 billion new shares. This year, the longhaul LCC will attempt to foster growth with the launch of flights to the United States while resuming service to India.