China Southern Air Holding (CSAH) has incorporated a wholly-owned stand-alone cargo company with a registered capital of CNY1 billion yuan (USD143 million), China's National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System said in a December 24 approval.
In its original application to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) in October, CSAH said the new firm will assume the operation of China Southern Airlines' freighter fleet, which currently stands at two B747-400(FSCD)s and twelve B777-Fs, while at the same time selling bellyhold capacity on its sister carrier's passenger fleet. It will also oversee the running of China Southern's cargo terminals and international logistics operations.
China Southern is the last of China's Big Three state-owned airlines to spin off its cargo operations. The move is part of Beijing's ongoing mixed public/private ownership diversification drive aimed at improving the competitiveness and sustainability of largescale state-owned enterprises.
In 2017, China Eastern Airlines parent China Eastern Air Holding (CEA Holding) disposed of a 55% stake in its Eastern Air Logistics subsidiary to four privately-owned companies while in December 2018, Air China sold its 51% stake in Air China Cargo to the China National Aviation Capital Holding Co., a wholly-owned unit of the China National Aviation Holding Co. (CNAHC).
