AirAsia is set to begin operating from Vietnam after reaching an agreement to take a 30 per cent stake in VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co. which has only just recently been licensed as the country’s first entirely private airline, but is not yet flying. The new company is aiming to be flying by June under the brand VietJet AirAsia. The new AirAsia sibling joins the carrier’s other brands: Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia and long-haul operator AirAsia X.

The move comes just as another foreign low cost carrier – Qantasbacked Jetstar Pacific – is mired in a series of disputes with the Vietnamese government, including: A safety inquiry, detention of its former CEO over fuel hedging losses and an official demand that the airline drop its “foreign” name.

Along with AirAsia’s 30 per cent stake in VietJet AirAsia, Vietnamese conglomerate Sovico and its chairman, Thanh Hung, will hold 51 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively.