Airbus to get 51 per cent stake in Chinese assembly plant

By Our Corporate Bureau | 23 Apr 2007


Mumbai: European aircraft manufacturer Airbus Industries will hold a majority 51 per cent stake in the new assembly facility for A320 plane in north China's Tianjin city, its first aircraft assembly plant outside Europe, reports quoting Chinese officials said.

The plant is due to begin operations in early 2009 and by 2011 hopes to be producing four Airbus A320s a month, the report added.

Investors in the new company include Hafei Aviation Industry Co and Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry Co (both of which are affiliated to AVIC Two), Tianjin Bonded Zone Investment Co, and China Aviation Industry Corp One (AVIC One), the other leading Chinese aircraft maker.

Total investment in the project is estimated at eight to ten billion Yuan ($1.04 to $1.3 billion).

The company's registered capital of 300 million Yuan ($39 million) includes 180 million Yuan from Tianjin Bonded Zone Investment, 60 million Yuan from AVIC One, 30 million Yuan from Hafei and a further 30 million Yuan from Hongdu.

An agreement for setting up the plant was signed during the visit of French President Jacques Chirac to China last October.