KHAZANAH DENIES AIRASIA'S TONY FERNANDES TO EMERGE AS SINGLE LARGEST SHAREHOLDER IN MAS

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) - Khazanah Nasional Bhd has denied media
reports that AirAsia Bhd's Tony Fernandes will emerge as the single
largest shareholder with a 20 per cent stake in Malaysian Airline System Bhd
(MAS) in a share swap deal.

"These reports are incorrect," the government's investment arm said in a
brief statement here Sunday.

Both Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranum, the two major shareholders of
AirAsia and AirAsia X Sdn Bhd, said in separate statements that there was no
truth to the media reports.

The reports said the move was to bring in Fernandes and turn around the
financially-troubled national carrier.

Khazanah said: "The aviation sector is a strategic sector to the economy and
MAS remains a core holding in Khazanah Nasional's portfolio. Khazanah will
continue to maintain its position as the single largest shareholder in MAS."

Khazanah holds about a 70 per cent stake in MAS.

"As an active strategic investor, Khazanah constantly reviews ways to
improve the performance of its portfolio companies and concurrently the
competitiveness of key strategic sectors of the economy," it said.

Khazanah, which also holds equity in AirAsia's major shareholder, Tune Air
Sdn Bhd, said further announcements would be made at the appropriate time
with regards to Khazanah's position in MAS' ongoing transformation plan.

Fernandes and Kamarudin, who hold a 26.28 per cent stake in the low-cost
airline, said, "We wish to clarify that this is not true."

"As the major shareholders of AirAsia Bhd and AirAsia X Sdn Bhd, we are
committed to increasing shareholder value in both our core investments by
continuously exploring various opportunities to enhance our franchise," they
said in the joint statement.