Trading in shares of Malaysian Airlines will be suspended from December 15 in the first step towards the struggling carrier’s delisting from the stock exchange as part of a government-led restructuring.
State fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the majority shareholder in MAS, plans to take the airline private by the end of the year.
This is part of a 6 billion ringgit ($1.8 billion) restructuring aimed at returning the carrier to profit within three years of the de-listing.
MAS recorded its worst quarterly loss since late 2011 in the third quarter as passenger numbers and yields dropped further after the loss of two Boeing 777s in separate incidents in March and July this year.
Khazanah has already said it would replace MAS with a new company called Malaysia Airlines Bhd, and would make a key announcement on the leadership of the new company by this month, Reuters reported.
Announcing third quarter losses, the airline said: “Whilst declining fuel prices have helped stem losses in our quarterly result, Malaysia Airlines continues to struggle despite efforts to reduce the financial bleeding.
“Certain markets, particularly China, continue to pose challenges to return to previous levels. However, we are encouraged with recovery in other markets as reflected in the higher new booking intakes system-wide compared to the previous year.”