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Sir Richard Branson's Virgin empire has snapped up a 20 per cent stake in a new budget Malaysian airline, it has been confirmed.

Virgin has yet to make a statement on the deal, but business tycoon Sir Richard was reported as saying that he was "thrilled" about the purchase of shares in long-haul carrier Air Asia X.

Confirming that he had bought a fifth of the shares in the airline's holding company Fly Asian Xpress, he told the BBC that he expected the new carrier to enjoy the "same success" its short-haul counterpart Air Asia had enjoyed since its launch in 2001.

The new airline, controlled by Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes, has reportedly been given permission to fly from the country's capital Kuala Lumpur to the UK, Australia and China.

It is not known how much Virgin paid to secure a stake in Air Asia X, but the latter claimed in a statement that the tie-up between the two groups would assist its ability to negotiate with various airports, regulatory authorities and governments.

"We believe that this partnership whereby Virgin will take a 20 per cent stake will be a sound and successful investment," said Air Asia X chairman Kalimullah Hassan.

Reports suggest that Air Asia X has ordered 15 planes from Airbus, with the carrier due to officially enter the aviation market next month.

Virgin already runs the Virgin Atlantic airline and also recently launched budget internal flights in the US under its Virgin America brand.