Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia will soon be taken private, a local business weekly reported at the weekend, citing unnamed sources.

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

Tune Air's shareholders are AirAsia chief executive 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."

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

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