Malaysia Aviation Group is wholly owned by the country’s sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional. The deal would make Sarawak the first Malaysian state to own an airline. Sarawak will rename the carrier to Air Borneo and turn it into a full-service airline, Sarawak premier Abang Johari Tun Openg said at the signing ceremony in Sarawak’s capital Kuching.

The Malaysia Aviation Group has signed an agreement on the sale and transfer of its MASwing airline to the Sarawak state government with the deal expected to be completed by the end of the year, MAG said on Wednesday.

MASWings is owned by Malaysia Aviation Group, which in turn is wholly owned by the country’s sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd. The deal would make Sarawak the first Malaysian state to own an airline.

Malaysia’s Sarawak state acquired a sister company of national carrier Malaysia Airlines, its latest move to boost ownership of strategic assets as it pushes for greater autonomy.

Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg today announced the state will have its own airline, AirBorneo. The Borneo Post reported him as making the announcement in Kuching today after the signing of a sale and purchase agreement formalising the state’s acquisition of rural airline MASwings.