A list of preliminary shareholders for China's first jumbo jet aircraft company has been compiled, Shanghai Securities News reported on Monday.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission on behalf of the central government will be the largest shareholder. The China Aviation Industry Corporation I (Avic I), together with China Aviation Industry Corporation II (Avic II), is second biggest, an Avic I source was quoted as saying.

Avic I and Avic II, which are said to hold an equal amount of shares, will mainly invest in the form of the production assets they have now, said the newspaper.

Some local governments, including Shanghai municipality, were also included on the list. The local governments as a whole planned to inject five billion yuan (about US$694 million) into the company. No information was available on how much that investment would count in the total shares available.

Major Chinese metal producers such as Baosteel and China Aluminium Corp. will also become shareholders, as they can serve in providing manufacturing materials.

The final list of shareholders has yet to come out. There is still a possibility of adjustments, the Avic I source said. The company is likely to be set up ahead of the country's annual parliamentary session that starts in early March, he said.

The establishment of the company was approved in February 2007 by the State Council, China's cabinet. This was to make the country capable of building aircraft with a take-off weight of more than 100 tons, or planes with more than 150 seats.

(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2008)