KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (July 6): Foreigners held 21.48 percent of AirAsia Group Bhd’s issued shares as of June 30, 2021, the first recorded increase in foreign holdings in the business since December 31, 2019. AirAsia Group stated in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday that it had 3.9 billion issued shares as of June 30, 2021.
According to AirAsia Group’s previous disclosures, the foreign shareholding ratio of 21.48 percent increased from 15.72 percent on December 31, 2020 and 14.26 percent on June 30, 2020.
According to the filings, the latest figure of 21.48 percent was AirAsia Group’s first disclosed foreign shareholder increase to over 20% since December 31, 2019, when the company’s foreign ownership stood at 26.3 percent.
However, the company’s foreign shareholding figures as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 were not disclosed in the papers.
According to the papers, foreign ownership of the company was 39.06 percent as of June 30, 2018.
The percentage of foreign ownership of shares in AirAsia Group has not exceeded the 45 percent limit of the company’s issued shares, according to the company’s latest foreign shareholding update.
According to the corporation, the 45 percent foreign shareholding limit is also known as the prescribed limit.
“Shares held by foreigners who are within the statutory limit shall be entitled to all rights and entitlements linked to the shares,” according to the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) (Foreign Ownership) Regulations 1996, according to AirAsia Group.
Since early 2020, the share price of AirAsia Group has been keenly monitored in light of worldwide Covid-19 pandemic-driven movement restriction policies that have brought the tourism and aviation industries to their knees as international borders have been blocked to halt the pandemic’s spread.
The share price of AirAsia Group fell from RM1.71 on December 27, 2019, to 68 sen on March 20, 2020, before rebounding to current values of above 80 sen as Covid-19 vaccine progress promotes investor optimism about the tourism and aviation industries’ comeback.
The share price of AirAsia Group had gained four sen, or 4.55 percent, to 92 sen at 2.48pm today, giving it a market worth of around RM3.59 billion.
According to AirAsia Group’s most recent annual report, foreign stockholders included Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas, and JP Morgan Securities plc as of April 30, 2021.
According to AirAsia Group, Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas’ Singapore Branch each owned 3.15 percent and 1.84 percent of the company, respectively, while JP Morgan controlled 0.23 percent./n
