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CAL to Buy Cargo Stake
Taiwan's China Airlines (CAL) is expected to buy a 25 per cent stake in Shanghai-based China Cargo Airlines in September at the earliest, CAL officials said Friday.
"Our target is to finalize the acquisition before the end of this year, but we don't rule out the possibility of closing the deal as early as September," said a CAL official who declined to be named.
"With the acquisition, we hope to turn Taiwan into an air cargo hub for China and the rest of the world once the island opens full direct links with Beijing," he said.
The 64-million-US-dollar deal with China Eastern Airlines, the largest shareholder of China Cargo Airlines, will have to be approved by both Chinese and Taiwanese authorities before it can go ahead.
China Cargo Airlines currently operates 12 international routes between China and major countries and areas including the United States, Europe, Japan and Hong Kong.
CAL has recently joined two other Taiwanese airlines, EVA Airways and Far Eastern Air Transport Corp, and Taiwan Airport Service Co to form a 221.45 million yuan (US$27 million) cargo terminal joint venture with Xiamen, a city in southern China.
The four Taiwanese firms are to invest some US$13.6 million to take a combined 49 per cent stake in the venture.
Source: China Daily
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