DJ Baosteel,Chinalco To Take Stakes In Jet-Making Venture-Report

BEIJING (Dow Jones)-Baosteel Group Co. and Aluminum Corp. of China, or Chinalco, are expected to take stakes in an airplane-making venture, the Shanghai Securities News reported Monday, citing an unnamed official at China Aviation Industry Corp. I.

The State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission will be the largest stakeholder in the venture, which will be set up before the National People’s Congress in March, the paper said, citing the official.

State-run aircraft makers AVIC I and AVIC II will jointly take the second-largest stake, the official said.

The report didn’t give the size of the stakes Baosteel and Chinalco will take.

The report cited the AVIC official as saying local governments will also invest in the company. The official estimated their investment around CNY5 billion, but didn’t mention any stake size.

The report didn’t give monetary figures for the other stakeholders.

The goal of the planned venture is to make aircraft with more than 150 passenger seats or able to handle more than 100 metric tons of cargo, comparable to Boeing Co.'s (BA) 737 and Airbus’s A320, the report said.

Baosteel is the parent company of Baoshan Iron & Steel Co.  while Chinalco is the parent of Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (ACH).