KUALA LUMPUR - SOUTHEAST Asian budget carrier AirAsia's plan to privatise and delist from the Malaysian stock exchange has been aborted due to the global financial crisis, a report said on Friday.

The Edge financial daily said the Malaysia-based carrier's major shareholder Tune Air was unable to raise funds for the delisting.

'The global credit crunch and economic slowdown, which have seen most of the developed world slipping into recession, had made it difficult for Tune Air to raise money for the purpose,' the newspaper said, citing industry sources.

AirAsia's chief executive officer Tony Fernandes on Thursday declined to say if the reported plan - which had never been confirmed by the airline - had been called off.

Tune Air owned 30.7 per cent of AirAsia's shares as of the end of March this year. Tune Air's main shareholders are Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun, who is AirAsia's deputy chief executive officer.

The Edge said 'certain investors' who were initially keen to take part in the proposed privatisation of the carrier had turned bearish and decided to pull out due to the economic crisis.

The news comes after AirAsia last week announced its first quarterly loss since going public in 2004.

AirAsia posted a loss of 466 million ringgit (S$196.6 million) in the third quarter, blaming the red ink on losses incurred in foreign exchange and fuel hedging. -- AFP