Freight forwarder Sinotrans Ltd. said Wednesday its Shanghai-listed subsidiary Sinotrans Air Transportation Develepment Co., or Sinoair, would buy 49 percent of the registered capital of Sichuan Airlines Group Co. 

The Hong Kong-listed firm said the purchase price would be determined after the completion of asset valuation of Sichuan Airlines.

Sinotrans said another 49 percent of Sichuan Airlines would be acquired by State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration of Sichuan Province and two percent by Chuanhua Holdings.

Sinoair said the plan would improve the quality of its domestic air cargo services and its competitiveness in the cargo market.

Sinoair, 70.36-percent owned by Sinotrans, reported a 17.66 percent rise in net profit to 398.6 million yuan (US$48.14) of last year, with turnover surging 27.04 percent to 3.81 billion yuan.

The Hong Kong-listed Sinotrans said Tuesday its 2004 net profit rose 13.9 percent to 802.82 million yuan as strong growth in China's trade boosted demand for logistics services.

Sinotrans is one of China's largest express-delivery providers. It has joint venture operations with companies like DHL Worldwide Express Inc. and United Parcel Services Inc. (UPS)

Last December, Sinotrans sold to UPS a large part of its joint-venture operations with the U.S.-based firm for US$100 million. Analysts said the deal could help boost its 2005 net profit.

(Shenzhen Daily March 25, 2005)