Malaysia's Capital A mulls fundraising options for planned U.S. listing

Malaysian aviation group Capital A Berhad said on Thursday it was evaluating fundraising options for a planned US listing, as it looks to shake off its classification as a financially distressed firm by Malaysia’s stock exchange. Capital A, formerly known as AirAsia Group Berhad, was hard-hit by pandemic travel restrictions in Asia, leading Bursa Malaysia Securities to classify it as a PN17 company, or financially distressed, in January. Such firms may be de-listed by the exchange if they fail to regularise their finances within a set time frame. Capital A received a clean report from auditors Ernst & Young and was confident of meeting a deadline to submit a regularisation plan by early January 2023, CEO Tony Fernandes said Thursday. “Our airlines have strategic plans in place to paint the skies red once again with a leaner and more robust model for a successful and viable operation for the future,” he said, adding Capital A would forge ahead with its digital businesses. Capital A has invested heavily in payments firm BigPay, logistics arm Teleport and mobile Super App to diversify its revenue sources.<br/>