The signing ceremony for China Southern Airlines’ equity diversification reform with South China’s Guangdong Province is held on Saturday in Beijing. Photo: Huang Ge/GT

 
China Southern Airlines on Saturday announced the start of its equity diversification reform, bringing state-owned capital worth 30 billion yuan ($4.36 billion) from South China's Guangdong Province. 

It is China's first cooperation model between a state-owned enterprise (SOE) and a local government. 

The reform is a milestone for deepening SOE reform in the country and is also a role model for cooperation between SOEs and Guangdong Province, said Hao Peng, secretary of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) Party Committee and Chairman of SASAC.

The reform will help improve the corporate governance structure of the airline company and nurture it into a leading firm in the world, Hao told a signing ceremony in Beijing, noting that it will also play a vital role in advancing integrated regional economic development.

The Guangdong-based airline said the new investment will be primarily applied to the air transport business, aiming to serve the construction of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

In recent years, the airline has been active in the building of the BRI, opening 172 air routes along 38 countries and regions of the routes, providing more than 15 million trips each year.

As one of China's major airlines, the company said it will strengthen efforts to grasp opportunities during the growth of the Great Bay Area and provide world-class solutions to the local aviation industry.

Industry insiders said the reform will further boost Guangdong's economic growth and expand the province's opening-up.

China Southern Airlines is expected to focus on the development needs of the Great Bay Area by optimizing its deployment of domestic and overseas routes and providing basic support to the area's social and economic development, Hao said.

Global Times