Kuala Lumpur: Khazanah Nasional Bhd, which owns nearly 70 per cent of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), said it will stay as the single largest shareholder of the national carrier as the company undergoes a transformation plan. It was clarifying weekend reports that AirAsia founders Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun would end up as the single biggest shareholder in MAS. "These reports are incorrect. The aviation sector is a strategic sector to the economy and MAS remains a core holding in Khazanah's portfolio," the investment group said in a statement. In a separate statement, Fernandes and Kamarudin also said it was not true that they would end up as the single largest shareholder. "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. It was reported that MAS would partner Asia's largest budget carrier, AirAsia, and an official announcement is likely to be made by the government this week. It is learnt that MAS will swap shares with AirAsia in a move that could see AirAsia chief executive officer Fernandes getting a 20 per cent stake in the national carrier. This will allow both Malaysian carriers to rationalise their fleet frequencies and destinations within the country and abroad while ensuring MAS returns to becoming a premier airline. Khazanah, in its statement, did not deny that a revamp was on the way. "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."
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