A regulation is being drafted to permit private capital into
China's state-owned aviation sector, according to the General
Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC).
The regulation will be sent to the State Council for revision in
March, said Yuan Yaohui, an official with CAAC.
The draft will suggest that in capital cities and major tourism
cities, the state-owned shares of airports should be more than 51
percent, Yuan said. The regulation for domestic capital will be
more open than that for overseas investment issued last year.
China revised the regulation on foreign investment in the civil
aviation industry and began to allow more overseas capital, methods
and range of investment starting from August 1, 2002.
A
private enterprise has just been approved to buy Yichang airport
with 600 million yuan (US$75 million), a trial of domestic
investment in civil aviation.
China now has 143 airports, mostly state-owned. Rapid economic
growth has boosted the pace of airport construction and
renovation.
Fund-raising channels vary. Meilan Airport in the island Hainan
Province issued H shares last year. Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou,
capital of south China's Guangdong Province, has finalized the work
for domestic listing.
(Xinhua News Agency February 11, 2003)