Cathay and Air China form joint cargo venture

Cathay Pacific said it would form a joint venture with Air China to capture the lucrative air cargo business in two top Chinese manufacturing centres as exports rebound.

By Agencies | Feb 25, 2010, 07.19 PM IST

HONG KONG: Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific said on Thursday it would form a joint venture with Air China to capture the lucrative air cargo business in two top Chinese manufacturing centres as exports rebound.

Cathay said in a statement it would acquire a 49 per cent stake in Air China Cargo (ACC), the platform for the joint venture, for 1,669 million yuan (240 million US).

ACC is currently wholly owned by Air China, one of the country's largest carriers and the second largest shareholder of Cathay. It will commence operations as a joint venture airline in the summer, with Beijing and Shanghai remaining as its principal bases.

The agreement would enable the two airlines to capitalise on the rebound in China's exports businesses as the western economies began to recover.

Air China's air cargo business focused on northern China and the Yangtze river delta, while Cathay's lies in the southern Pearl river delta, the statement said.

"The joint venture airline will provide the two most important cargo-generating regions in the mainland with two highly competitive and efficient home-based carriers," Cathay chairman Christopher Pratt said.

The Hong Kong airline said it would also sell four freighters and two spare engines to ACC, which currently operates seven Boeing 747 freighters.

Start a SIP with as low as ₹500 with ET Money App!