Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd said on Wednesday it has agreed to buy four Boeing 737-NG aircraft for about $228 million.

The planes, to be delivered from August 2007 to October 2008, would be used to support the company's short-distance domestic flights, China Eastern said in a statement published in the official Shanghai Securities News.

The company would use bank loans to finance the purchase, raising its debt ratio temporarily but having no impact on its cash flows and overall operations.

China Eastern signed an agreement with Boeing Co., the world's No. 2 commercial jet maker, in Shanghai on Tuesday for the purchase, it said.

Boeing in November announced 70 firm orders in China for its family of 737 aircraft, but it was not clear if the China Eastern order was part of that earlier announcement.

Asia has emerged as a battleground in Boeing's effort to regain market share from arch rival Airbus SAS.

The European carrier, which is 80 percent owned by European Aerospace Defence & Space Co. and 20 percent by Britain's BAE Systems Plc., earlier this month announced its own mega-order in China, agreeing to sell 150 planes to Chinese carriers.

(China Daily December 21, 2005)