Firm controlled by JD.com founder cleared to set up Chinese cargo airline

YTO International Express and Supply Chain Technology

03/08/2021 08:40

BEIJING/SYDNEY, Aug 3 (Reuters) - A company controlled by
the founder of China's e-commerce giant JD.com Inc  9618.HK  has
been granted approval to set up a new cargo airline based in the
eastern province of Jiangsu, China's aviation regulator said on
Tuesday. 
    Jiangsu Jingdong Cargo Airlines, with registered capital of
600 million yuan ($92.83 million), has obtained preliminary
regulatory approvals to launch a new carrier, the Civil Aviation
Administration of China said in a notice. 
    Suqian Jindong Zhanrui Enterprise Management, controlled by
the JD.com founder Richard Liu, will contribute 75% of the
founding capital while Airport Group in Nantong, a city in
Jiangsu, will supply the rest, according to CAAC. 
    The airline is planning to use Boeing  BA.N  737-800 planes
for its fleet, the CAAC added. 
    JD.com declined to comment beyond the CAAC statement.
    JD Logistics, the logistics offshoot of JD.com, raised $3.16
billion in its initial public offering in May, the second
largest IPO in Hong Kong in 2021.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2NF0CP
    The setup of a new cargo airline comes as JD.com's online
shopping rival Alibaba Group Holding LTd  9988.HK  has been
expanding its fleet. YTO Cargo Airlines, owned by Alibaba-backed
YTO Express  6123.HK , is introducing freighters converted from
767 and 777 planes.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2ND4PS
    Boeing, which has been struggling in China with sales of
passenger planes due to trade tensions and the grounding of its
737 MAX, dominates the global freighter market. Air freight
rates have skyrocketed, driven in part by a pandemic-induced
expansion of online shopping. 
    
($1 = 6.4635 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 (Reporting by Stella Qiu, Sophie Yu in Beijing and Jamie Freed
in Sydney
Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
 ((yifan.qiu@thomsonreuters.com; 86-10-66271289;))