Airbus kicks off construction on new China plant

Airbus kicks off construction on new China plant
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) July 1, 2009

Shanghai Airlines agrees to China Eastern merger
Shanghai Airlines said on Tuesday it had agreed to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of its larger rival, China Eastern Airlines. Shanghai Airlines Chairman Zhou Chi told reporters at a shareholders' meeting that the two carriers had reached an agreement after merger talks announced earlier in June, but had yet to finalise the mechanics of the deal. "We are discussing several ways to merge, including via a share swap," Zhou was quoted as saying by Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of the meeting. Zhou said Shanghai Airlines would remain a legal entity independent of China Eastern Airlines, one of China's three largest carriers, to ensure it would keep its routes. "The legal entity can help Shanghai Airlines keep the traffic rights it already owns, which will benefit the merged group," Zhou said. To complete the merger, China Eastern will raise 7 billion yuan (1.02 billion dollars) through a private placement in Shanghai and Hong Kong, under a proposal endorsed by China's state assets regulator. China Eastern will swap 1.3 of its Shanghai-listed A shares for each Shanghai Airlines A share, Dow Jones reported, citing a person familiar with the situation. China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines shares have been suspended from trading since June 8 pending the merger talks. China Eastern is listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and Shanghai Airlines is listed in Shanghai. Zhou said in March that Shanghai Airlines may return to profit this year if passenger transportation growth regains momentum later this year. Shanghai Airlines posted a net loss of 1.3 billion yuan in 2008, wider than the 435.1 million yuan loss the previous year. The merger is expected to create an aviation company with a dominant position in the Shanghai market as part of the city's efforts to gear up for the World Expo starting in May 2010. Analysts have said the merger would give the new group a 50 percent market share in Shanghai and ease fierce competition in the local market, according to previous state media reports. This would help the combined carrier to better compete against its major rivals, Air China and China Southern Airlines.

European aviation giant Airbus said Wednesday it had started building a new plant in China that would make major components for its A350 XWB -- an aircraft designed to compete with Boeing's Dreamliner.

The plant in the northern city of Harbin is part of a programme to realise an Airbus commitment of allocating five percent of the A350 XWB airframe to the Chinese aviation industry, the company said in a statement emailed to AFP.

The factory, scheduled to start operation by the end of 2010, will also manufacture composite parts for A320 planes, the statement said.

Airbus will hold 20 percent of the plant, while its Chinese partner Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG) will take 50 percent. The remaining stakes will be held by three other Chinese firms, the statement said.

HAIG said in a statement in April that the registered capital of the joint venture was 150 million dollars.

Related Links
Aerospace News at SpaceMart.com

Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks

del.icio.us

Digg

Google

China unveils fund to finance aerospace industry: state media
Beijing (AFP) June 29, 2009
China has unveiled the country's first national fund aimed at investing in aerospace, state media reported, as the country tries to compete with the industry's heavyweights. Investors in the fund, which expects to raise 30 billion yuan (4.4 billion dollars), include state-run operations such as Xi'an Yanliang National Aviation Hi-Tech Industrial Base, the Xinhua news agency said Sunday. ... read more

First Conclusive Signature For Lunar Uranium

LRO Enters Orbit Around the Moon

LCROSS Successfully Completes Lunar Maneuver

General Dynamics Provides Communications Link For Lunar Mapping Mission

Landforms Indicate Recent Warm Weather On Mars

Opportunity Moves To Outcrop For Rest

Spirit Continues To Study Troy

New Instrument Could Detect Water Deep Underground On Mars

NASA Selects New Astronauts For Future Space Exploration

NASA Seeks Help With Von Braun Collection

Plans Unveiled For Most Isolated Hotel In The World

NASA Partners With California Space Authority

China to launch Mars space probe

China To Launch First Mars Probe In Second Half Of 2009

China Launches Yaogan VI Remote-Sensing Satellite

China Able To Send Man To Moon Around 2020

Cargo Ship To Undock From ISS, Serve As Technical Platform

Space Station Room With A View

Progress To Undock From ISS June 30

Europe seeks ISS extension, flights for its astronauts

Russia launches US radio satellite: report

Largest-Ever Telecommunications Satellite Launched

ILS Proton Launches SIRIUS FM-5 Satellite

Integration Of Ariane 5 Completed

STScI Joins The Search For Other Earths In Space

Five 'Holy Grails' Of Distant Solar Systems

Planet-Forming Disk Orbiting Twin Suns Revealed

Planet-Hunting Method Succeeds At Last

Vietnam To Operate Its First Satellite Image Receiving Station

Trash Talk

TacSat-3 Completes Successful First Month Of Operations

Telesat Picks Integral Systems For SkyTerra Satellite

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement