AirAsia receives formal approval from India’s FIPB for 49 per cent investment

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KUCHING: The application made by AirAsia Bhd (AirAsia) through its investment arm, AirAsia Investment Ltd to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) of India seeking approval for investment has been granted.

According to a press statement, the deal involved a 49 per cent investment into an Indian joint venture company named AirAsia (India) Pvt Ltd (AirAsia India) partnering Tata Sons Limited and Arun Bathia of Telestra Tradeplace Pvt Ltd had been formally approved yesterday.

This approval would enable AirAsia India to apply with the Indian directorate general of Civil Aviation for the aviation licence to operate as an Indian airline. AirAsia was confident that it could replicate its unprecedented success across Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and other joint ventures, it stated.

In particular, AirAsia believed its success in making it affordable for people to fly through superior operational performance by emphasising a focused and disciplined cost structure would tremendously benefit Indian consumers.

As a pioneer of the low cost carrier model in Asia and currently Asia’s largest low cost carrier with 120 aircraft and over 350 orders, AirAsia believed Indian aviation had enormous long-term growth potential.

The joint venture planned to operate from Chennai, Tamil Nadu focused on providing domestic Tier II and Tier III city connectivity to Indian travellers.

Currently, AirAsia through its operations based in Thailand and Malaysia already connect Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruchirapalli, Kochi and Kolkata to Asean and beyond through its group’s operations.