AirAsia repays over half of its RM300mil loan to SDBank

KOTA KINABALU: AirAsia repaid Sabah Development Bank (SDBank) over half of the load it received four years ago during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes says AirAsia is forever grateful to the Sabah government and the Sabah Development Bank (SDBank) for its RM300mil loan during the 2020 pandemic crisis.

The chief executive officer of Capital A Bhd, AirAsia’s parent company, said the loan helped the airline survive.

“We have repaid up to RM170mil so far and will continue to settle the remaining balance over the next two years. Additionally, we are paying RM69mil in interest,” Fernandes said during a press conference on Tuesday (Aug 13).

He explained that a portion of the loan was used to develop facilities for Teleport, including cold storage in Sabah, and to enhance AirAsia’s digital platforms.

When the loan was initially approved in 2020, it generated controversy, with critics branding it a “risky undertaking” for the debt-burdened state bank.

Then Chief Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal defended the loan as a calculated move that would benefit Sabah.

“My CFO (chief financial officer ) can provide full transparency regarding the loan. There’s nothing controversial about it—it saved AirAsia, saved a lot of jobs and continued tourism,” said Fernandes.