Malaysia’s Capital A, the owner of budget carrier AirAsia, said on Friday it was exploring listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange, as it looks to diversify its access to global markets. The company, hard hit by pandemic travel restrictions, was classified by Malaysia’s stock exchange as financially distressed in 2022. It expects a return to profitability this year after posting a loss for fiscal year 2024. Its shareholders will need to approve a plan to exit the financially distressed status and Malaysia’s high court has to approve the firm’s planned capital reduction, Capital A Group CEO Tony Fernandes said in early March. The company targets to have the status revoked by mid-2025. A shareholder meeting is set for May 7. Shares in Capital A were up 5.7% to a near two-month high at 0.84 ringgit per share by 0451 GMT. In a separate statement, it reaffirmed its confidence in completing its proposed regularisation and restructuring plan by June 2025. The potential Hong Kong listing is the “natural next step” and would allow the company to tap into deeper global and Mainland Chinese investor pools, Capital A said. The plan comes at a time when Hong Kong’s equity capital markets come back to life after at least two years of flat-lining activity. AirAsia X announces brand new route from Karachi to Kuala Lumpur, providing affordable connectivity to Malaysia’s capital The city’s equity capital markets have languished in the past three years as a result of Chinese regulators slowing down the approval process and due to global financial market volatility. “Discussions are ongoing and Capital A is close to appointing an international investment bank to advise on the proposed listing structure and timeline,” the firm said, without sharing details. Plans to initiate the formal process are subject to internal assessments and regulatory approvals, it said.