Tata Sons considers pursuing 49% of AirAsia India stake in the joint venture among Tata sons and AirAsia Group, as the air carrier suffers asperities to operate in India. Meanwhile, Hardeep Singh Puri, the Minister of Civil Aviation of India, hinted that AirAsia Group was suspending its affiliate’s operations in India as “their parent company has problems”.
On October 5, 2020, Tata Sons announced it was completing AirAsia India financial evaluation in order to buy 49% of the airline’s stake and become a full-owner of the budget carrier. Currently, the Tata Group owns 51% of Malaysia’s AirAsia stake. The other part of the stake, a 49%, is owned by AirAsia Group.
Tata Sons is allegedly forced to consider buying out AirAsia India because the group ostensibly refuses to invest its capital into India’s joint venture.
Meanwhile, speaking to local media, Hardeep Singh Puri, the Minister of Civil Aviation of India, allegedly said that “AirAsia’s shop is anyway shutting down”. According to the Minister, the group had financial asperities that came as the main reason to suspend the AirAsia India operations in India.
Earlier in September 2020, AirAsia Group announced its plans to raise as much as $600 million by the end of 2020 to survive the business slump that was deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The group planned to reach the money needed through debt and equity as it evaluated some of its operations outside Malaysia.