AIRASIA has refuted news reports that it was planning to shift its regional headquarters from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta.

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes said the group’s regional base would continue to be Malaysia, and that the company would remain listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.

The office to be opened in Jakarta, called AirAsia ASEAN, was explained as a means to broaden the airline’s branding as a Truly Asean carrier, and to extend its outreach to various regional groups interested in tourism and aviation.

The office’s location in the Indonesian capital is expected to enhance AirAsia’s relationship with the Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretariat, and help the carrier get across its ideas on developing regional aviation and tourism.

“We believe that having our Asean representative office in Jakarta will also help our Group coordinate more effectively with the Indonesian authorities and interact more closely with the Indonesian people,” an airline spokesperson said.

Paradise Group of Companies executive chairman, Pardip Kukreja, said AirAsia’s plan to open a representative office in Jakarta was a very logical thing to do.

“Indonesia is a big market with a big population, and the office will tap the country’s potential,” he said.