REUTERS: The Nikkei newspaper reported on Wednesday that Malaysian budget airline AirAsia Group is in talks to buy Gojek, an Indonesian ride-hailing and payments company, to expand its operations in Thailand. According to Nikkei, citing a second source familiar with the talks, Gojek would take a stake in AirAsia’s digital branch in exchange for the low-cost carrier acquiring Gojek’s Thai company.
A contract with the Indonesian startup unicorn comes only a week after the loss-making airline asked for a digital banking license in Malaysia, marking a shift in focus away from traditional banking as the majority of its fleet remains grounded due to coronavirus restrictions.
(In Bengaluru, Sameer Manekar contributed reporting; Shailesh Kuber edited the piece.)
Reuters is the source of this information./n
