PETALING JAYA: AirAsia Group Bhd is proposing to change its name to Capital A Bhd.

       In its filing with Bursa Malaysia, the low-cost carrier said the proposed name "Capital A Bhd" was approved by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) and reserved by the company on Dec 28 last year.

       "The proposed change of name is subject to the approval of the shareholders of the company at a general meeting to be convened at a date to be announced later," AirAsia said.

       The proposed change of name, if approved by the shareholders, would take effect from the date of issuance of the notice of registration of new name by the CCM to the company, it added.

       AirAsia shares closed 1.5 sen higher at 80.5 sen today.

       The company completed its rights issue last week, raising RM974.5mil to support its overall fundraising strategy.

       This included the full subscription for their entitlements by its two largest shareholders Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, which would cost them RM257.3mil.

       With the additional cash of RM975mil on top of the earlier RM500mil loan from Danajamin, RM300mil from Sabah Development Bank and RM336.5mil raised via private placement, the cash crunch resulting from the lockdown and the pandemic is no longer as alarming, TA Research said.

       The brokerage said it believed the new capital could help AirAsia weather through the darkness until it sees lights at the end of the tunnel.

       For the third quarter of financial year 2021 (FY21), the group incurred RM676.9mil in core losses compared to a RM867.4mil loss in the third quarter of FY20.

       For the first nine months of 2021, its core loss was at RM2bil versus RM2.6bil reported a year earlier.

       “Will AirAsia be classified as a PN17 company after the 18-month relief period granted by Bursa Malaysia due in January 2022? We view that chances for AirAsia to reverse its RM5.9bil deficit in shareholders’ funds by then are slim.

       “Having said that, we do not think this would be disastrous as AirAsia has been sorting its way out of the woods,” TA Research said in a report.

       The research house also expects the tourism sector to recover in 2022 with the abolition of interstate travel bans, relaxation on travel standard operating procedures and the establishment of travel bubbles.

       This would help reduce AirAsia’s losses before full recovery at the end of the pandemic.