AviChina Industry & Technology Co. Ltd. said on Thursday its Harbin Embraer Aircraft Industry Co. Ltd. has agreed to sell five jets to China Eastern Airlines Corporation Ltd. 

AviChina, a producer of vehicles and civilian aircraft, said the five ERJ145 jets would be delivered in 2005 and 2006. It gave no other details.

China Eastern Airlines said in a separate statement that it would buy the planes through its 62.56 percent-owned China Eastern Airlines Jiangsu Co. Ltd.

The total catalog price of the five jets amounted to 910 million yuan (US$110 million) but the actual purchase price will be less, it said.

China Eastern said it would fund the purchase by financing arrangements with banking institutions.

AviChina, through a subsidiary and its 55.73 percent-owned Hafei Aviation Industry Co. Ltd., owns 38.15 percent of Harbin Embraer.

Harbin Embraer is a Sino-foreign joint venture with Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica (Embraer) making ERJ145 aircraft in China.

The ERJ145, a Sino-Brazilian designed aircraft, is a 50-seat regional jet.

Hong Kong-listed AviChina had said on Tuesday that it expected lower earnings from its automobile business to hurt the company's 2004 results.

Shares of AviChina, which have fallen 6.85 percent over the past month, were unchanged at HK$0.68 in early trade on Thursday.

(CRI.com March 24, 2005)