HONG KONG (Nov 2): AirAsia Bhd, Asia's largest budget airline, has attracted interest in the sale of its aircraft leasing unit and hopes to complete the transaction early next year, a senior executive said on Wednesday. That process will take I would say three-four months," Simon Perkins, finance director of Asia Aviation Capital, the leasing unit of AirAsia, told the Airline Economics conference in Hong Kong on Wednesday. A successful deal would help AirAsia bolster finances and cut debt built up after years of rapid growth. Perkins said several potential buyers had signed confidentiality agreements allowing detailed talks, including some interested in the whole portfolio. "Hopefully we will get to a conclusion in the first quarter or second quarter of next year."

Source: The Edge Markets November 02, 2016 09:35 UTC