KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN budget carrier AirAsia will soon be taken private, a business weekly reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources.

AirAsia's controlling shareholder is Tune Air Sdn Bhd, which held 30.7 per cent of the company's shares as at end-March this year, the Edge said.

Tune Air's shareholders are AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes and AirAsia Executive Director Kamarudin Meranun, the report added.

'(AirAsia) has generated a lot of interest but there has always been scepticism about its business model from investors looking at short term returns,' the weekly quoted an unnamed source as saying.

'This has frustrated the major shareholders.'

Officials at AirAsia, which has a market capitalisation of around US$850 million (S$1.23 billion), could not be reached for comment.

Airlines around the world are set to post losses of US$5.2 billion this year as high oil prices and weaknening demand take a toll, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates.

Since the start of the year, AirAsia shares have lost 23 per cent, outperforming the benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index which has fallen 30 per cent.