Air China plans up to $842 mln share placement to buy planes, boost capital

Air China plans to raise up to 6.0b yuan ($842m) in a private share sale on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to expand its fleet and replenish working capital, it said on Friday. The flagship carrier is aiming to sell up to 854.7m shares, equivalent to 30% of its existing capital, to its controlling shareholder China National Aviation Holding Corporation Limited, it said in a statement to the Shanghai exchange. Air China will use 4.2b yuan of the proceeds to fund the purchase of 17 airplanes, with the remaining 1.8b yuan used to boost its working capital, according to the filing. The Chinese airline did not disclose the details of the aircraft acquisition plan. At the end of November, the group operated a fleet of 900 aircraft, including 386 company-owned aircraft, 215 under financial leases and 299 under operating leases.<br/>