AirAsia Sets Up $1B Bond Program To Shore Up Finances, Shares Jump

AirAsia Berhad announced a plan to raise up to $1 billion under multicurrency note program in a filing to Kuala Lumpur securities exchange Wednesday. The credit program will be used to refinance debt and buy airplanes, the company said.

Deal managers Barclays Bank PLC, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and RHB Investment Bank Bhd will start arranging investor meetings in Singapore, Hong Kong and London from Thursday, the airline said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia.

Shares of AirAsia, Asia's largest budget airline, jumped 7.46 percent after the announcement.

In 2015, AirAsia’s shares fell by more than half, hit by a June 10 report from Hong Kong-based GMT Research questioning the carrier’s accounting practices and the loss of a plane at its Indonesian unit due to an air crash in December 2014.

The company also suffered a net loss of 405.7 million ringgits ($92.5 million) in the September quarter due to plunge in the value of the Malaysian currency. In November, AirAsia reportedly said that the major shareholders of the company were evaluating all strategic options.

The low-budget carrier has also hit multiple roadblocks in India after starting out with much fanfare in 2014, according to local newspaper Livemint. From an initial plan to procure 28-30 aircraft by the end of 2015, it scaled back to operating just five aircrafts in India.

Wednesday’s funding plan will enable the airline to issue bonds in U.S. dollars or other currencies.

"Under the programme, the company may, from time to time issue notes in series or tranches denominated in U.S. dollars or any other currency as may be agreed to between the company, AirAsia and the relevant dealer," the airline said in the statement.