(From left) Capital A Bhd’s senior independent non-executive director Datuk Fam Lee Ee and chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, with AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd chairman Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim. Fam says Fernandes 'has shown an unparalleled ability to successfully transform Capital A to drive growth and deliver financial returns, earning him a reputation as one of the world's outstanding CEOs'. (Photo by Sam Fong/The Edge)

KUALA LUMPUR (April 24): Capital A Bhd’s board of directors has decided to extend Tan Sri Tony Fernandes' tenure as the chief executive officer for another five years, and as a strategic adviser to the airlines business, which is poised to be merged into AirAsia X Bhd.

“That's the start of many announcements over the next two weeks,” said Fernandes at a briefing here, but declined to reveal further, due to regulatory restrictions.

“From today onwards, there will be a bunch of announcements over the next few weeks, and then everyone will be clear.

“The plan is obviously to get out of PN17 (Practice Note 17 status), to have a strong aviation group, and to start growing again. That's the plan. [Priority] number one [is to] survive; number two [is to] bring back all the retrenched employees; [and] number three is to strengthen the balance sheets of both companies, Capital A and Aviation,” he said.

Capital A is in the midst of a series of restructuring to reverse its negative equity of RM10.47 billion on its balance sheet as at Dec 31, 2023, including merging its airlines business with AirAsia X and listing its branding business in the US.

“Investors want clarity, which we couldn't give for two reasons: One, we didn't know when the borders were going to open; and two, we couldn't tell when we were going to get out of PN17. We had an enormous handicap to other airlines, so we haven't been able to sell our story as well.

“Hopefully from this week and today is the start of a comeback with my appointment, so that ends the speculation. Am I staying? Am I going? What is my job going to be? Basically, my job is helping Bo Lingam (AirAsia's Tharumalingam Kanagalingam) and the team in aviation to get to three, four hundred planes, and help all the CEOs of Capital A,” said Fernandes.

He said over the next two years, investors and shareholders will witness the rise of four pillars of business, born out of the AirAsia group.

“All these businesses excite me, each set to become a free-standing entity, with its own robust capital structure.

“Throughout the next five years, I envision Teleport, Move Digital, Capital A Aviation Services Group and Capital A International evolving into separately listed public companies, which share the fundamental DNA of AirAsia — characterised by low-cost, high efficiency, and a relentless commitment to being independent and resilient market disruptors,” he said.

The announcement was made on Wednesday by Capital A’s senior independent non-executive director Datuk Fam Lee Ee, who said Fernandes “has shown an unparalleled ability to successfully transform Capital A to drive growth and deliver financial returns, earning him a reputation as one of the world's outstanding CEOs”.

“He has set Capital A on the right strategic path for ongoing value creation, and the board determined that it is in the best interest of the shareholders to extend his tenure through the next five years. We are confident that, under his guidance, we will achieve even greater milestones in the years ahead,” Fam said.