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China urges carriers' to merge cargo business

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-05-25 14:19
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HONG KONG - China is pushing the country's three major airlines to merge their cargo operations in a bid to claw back business in a market dominated by foreign carriers, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

The three major airlines are Air China, China Eastern and China Southern.

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The newspaper citing an official from China Southern said a preparation team had been formed to work out details of the consolidation while some sources said the proposed merger would be based in Shanghai.

Another source said a task force formed by State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission officials and airline executives was working out the form and share holding structure of the new cargo airline.

About 70 percent of the international air cargo in China is carried by foreign carriers including Air France, Lufthansa and Cargolux, while the major three mainland carriers accounted for 30 percent, the newspaper said.