KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — The share price of AirAsia Group Bhd ended the lunch break higher after the budget airline reaffirmed its intention to set up a joint-venture low-cost carrier in Vietnam.

Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said yesterday that AirAsia was an Asean airline.

"And, in Asean, Vietnam is one of the last remaining countries with a large population where we (AirAsia) are not in.

"Last year, when we announced this joint venture, we were bullish about Vietnam, and we remain incredibly bullish about serving one of the most dynamic, fastest-growing economies in Asia,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Public Investment Bank has set an "outperform” call on the company with a target price of RM4.14.

At 12.30pm, AirAsia was three sen better at RM3.09 with 4.47 million shares transacted. — Bernama