AirAsia shares fall 11.6% after plane goes missing

[KUALA LUMPUR] Shares in AirAsia fell 11.6 per cent after one of its aircraft went missing in bad weather on Sunday on its way to Singapore from the Indonesian city of Surabaya.

Shares of the Malaysia-based budget airline fell at the start of trade on Monday, after Indonesia resumed its search for the missing jetliner QZ8501 at first light on Monday.

AirAsia fell as much as 12.9 per cent to 2.56 ringgit at 0102 GMT, its lowest point since Nov 28. The stock has gained 21.4 per cent since the beginning of the year.

Indonesia AirAsia is 49 per cent owned by Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia, with local investors holding the rest. The AirAsia group, including affiliates in Thailand, the Philippines and India, has not had a crash since its Malaysian operations began in 2002.

REUTERS