AirAsia units plan US$300m bond issues

Singapore

AIRASIA Bhd, Asia's biggest budget airline, plans to raise funds at loss-making associates by issuing up to US$300 million in bonds and may sell planes to help cut group debt, chief executive Tony Fernandes said in a letter to investors.

Mr Fernandes, who has steered AirAsia into a billion-dollar business from a two-plane operation in 2002, said that the group plans to issue as much as US$150 million in convertible bonds at each of its Philippine and Indonesian associates.