Cargolux (CV, Luxembourg) has signed a joint-venture equity agreement with the Henan Airport Group (HAG) and the Xinggang Investment Group Company Ltd. (XIGC) thus formally establishing Henan Cargo Airlines (Zhengzhou).
A statement to mark the signing ceremony in Beijing said the Luxembourg-based cargo operator would hold a 25% stake in the airline, the maximum shareholding a foreign entity can legally own in a Chinese operator as specified by Chinese law. The majority 75% will rest in the hands of HAG, XIGC, and the Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Co. (HNCA).
Cargolux had previously announced it would hold a 35% stake in the carrier, known under its working title as Cargolux China (Zhengzhou), with HNCA holding 49%, the XIGC holding 8%, and Zhengzhou airport operator, Henan Airport Group Co., Ltd, holding the remaining 8%.
Henan Cargo Airlines plans to complete its certification in time to launch by the end of 2018. Cargo industry media reports last year indicated the start-up would focus on the transpacific market, with up to 80% of the flights between the US and China, while the remainder will be intra-Asia rotations.
Henan Cargo Airlines will leverage Zhengzhou's location as a central multimodal hub offering easy access to numerous Eastern Chinese cities via air, road, and rail.
