KUALA LUMPUR (July 4): Shares in AirAsia Group Bhd rose as much as seven sen or 2.37% to RM3.02 within the first hour of trading today, after its retired chairman reportedly met Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on a proposal to turn around the ailing Malaysia Airlines Bhd.

At the time of writing, the counter was traded at RM3.01 with a total of 21.60 million shares done.

The stock has jumped 3.8% or 11 sen since news broke on Wednesday evening that a group of businessmen – led by AirAsia’s co-founder and former chairman Datuk Pahamin Ab Rajab – met Mahathir to express their interest in helping the government turn around the national carrier.

Pahamin spent seven years as the non-executive chairman of low-cost carrier AirAsia, a post he was appointed to on Dec 14, 2001, before retiring on June 3, 2008.

A source close to the matter told The Edge Financial Daily that during the meeting, the group sought the approval of the premier, who is also chairman of Khazanah Nasional Bhd — the sole shareholder of Malaysia Airlines — to conduct due diligence on the national carrier in order to find the right solution.

The entire due diligence process can easily take anywhere from six to nine months.

It was reported that the group of businessmen is planning for Malaysia Airlines to remain a premium full-service carrier, while FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd would be transformed into “Asean’s first ultra low-cost carrier focusing on millennials”, the person had added.

Read also:

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/airasia-cofounder-proposes-plan-save-malaysia-airlines

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/malaysia-airlines-retain-identity-even-if-sold-%E2%80%94-pm-mahathir

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/newsbreak-khazanah-asset-sales-set-pick

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/airasia-active-after-former-chairman-reportedly-plans-mas-takeover