AirAsia’s Fernandes says company seeks more non-air acquisitions

KUALA LUMPUR — Low-cost carrier AirAsia is looking at five more acquisitions to boost its non-airline business operations to counter its ailing core flight service, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said Tuesday.

The acquisitions, to be announced in stages, will enable the company to fill in gaps that are standing in the way of its drive to become a key “superapp” provider and catch up to Southeast Asia’s top players — Singapore’s Grab and Indonesia’s Gojek

“I did tell [you] during our acquisition of Gojek Thailand that it’s our first partnership and [there would be] more to come,” Fernandes told a virtual news conference. “Watch that space,” he added.

Gojek and AirAsia announced an all-share deal last month in which the Indonesian tech group took a 4.76% stake via newly issued shares in AirAsia’s own superapp business in exchange for its Thai…