AIRASIA X to appoint Y.B. Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz as chairman

AirAsia X expects to appoint Y.B. Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz as the company's new non-executive, independent chairman this week.

The Board of Directors of AirAsia X Sdn Bhd will convene on Thursday, 3 March 2011, to formalize the appointment.

Y.B. Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, the former Minister of International Trade and Industry,had earlier accepted an offer for the post extended by the AirAsia X board.

Currently, the AirAsia X Board is chaired by Dato' Kamarudin Meranun, AirAsia Berhad's Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer.

"It is an honour and privilege for me to hand over and make way for someone of Y.B. Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz's stature, and we are confident that under her chairmanship, AirAsia X will continue to grow into a Malaysian Global Champion in aviation," said Dato' Kamarudin.

AirAsia X intends to capitalise on Y.B. Tan Sri Rafidah's extensive international expertise, as Malaysia's longest serving Minister of International Trade & Industry and her world-renown skills as a tough, no-nonsense, pragmatic and articulate international trade negotiator who completed many bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, as well as dealing with top-level executives of global multinational corporations to convince them to invest in Malaysia.

Her independent status will also strengthen the corporate governance of AirAsia X, which is considering an Initial Public Offering in the near future.

Her previous role at MITI also provided Y.B. Tan Sri Rafidah with extensive experience with the Malaysian IPO process and dealing with major institutional investors.

The current Board of Directors of AirAsia X Sdn Bhd comprises seven directors representing the shareholders of the company, namely AeroVentures Sdn Bhd (52 percent), AirAsia Bhd (16 percent), Corvina Holdings (10 percent), Orix Corp (11 percent), and Manara Malaysia Ltd (11 percent). The Board is presently chaired by Dato' Kamarudin Meranun, AirAsia Bhd's Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer.

AirAsia X is the long-haul, low cost affiliate of AirAsia, Malaysia's largest airline by market capitalization.