Capital A CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes
Capital A Bhd
wants to raise at least US$200 million from a secondary listing in Hong Kong as the parent of AirAsia looks to tap mainland Chinese investors and accelerate growth.
The company is undervalued due to the Malaysian stock exchange’s classification of it as financially distressed - a status it’s held since 2022, chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said in an interview Tuesday.
The potential for Southeast Asia, where much of Capital A’s exposure lies, to weather global geopolitical tensions may prove attractive to investors, he said.
"With geopolitics, ASEAN has got more awareness in North Asia,” Fernandes said, referring to the 10-nation bloc whose members includes Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
"We thought it was a great way to raise capital.”
The push for a secondary listing follows a meeting with Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Bonnie Chan during her visit to Kuala Lumpur in February, he said.
Capital A is mulling proposals from investment banks that Fernandes declined to identify, but hasn’t yet issued mandates. Fernandes said he expects to raise more than $200 million from a Hong Kong listing, though the company is waiting a full valuation assessment by banks.
HKEX is benefiting from a pick up in trading and listings since late last year, and dealmakers are optimistic about a boom in secondary listings from mainland-traded Chinese firms this year. The bourse is already processing a pipeline of more than 150 companies’ applications to list. Should the exchange land Capital A, it would be one of the biggest Southeast Asian firms to dual list in Hong Kong, which vies with rival financial hub Singapore for business.
Capital A’s airline group AirAsia is also drawing interest, with Bloomberg News reporting that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is poised to invest about $100 million in the low-cost Malaysian carrier.
Fernandes said AirAsia, which doesn’t hedge fuel, has benefited from oil’s roughly 20% decline in the past month and broad strengthening of emerging market currencies against the dollar. - Bloomberg
