Air China Chief to Get Aviation Regulatory Post BRIEFING:

SHANGHAI:

Air China’s chairman, Li Jiaxiang, will step down to become the state civil-aviation regulator, part of a government plan for the chief of the most-profitable Chinese carrier to help beef up the airline industry.

“The announcement may come after the New Year’s holiday,” the Air China board secretary, Huang Bin, said Saturday in a telephone interview from Beijing. “It’ll take a few days to complete the procedure.”

As president of Air China’s parent, China National Aviation Holding, Li insisted on the company’s voting rights as a minority shareholder in the rival China Eastern Airlines, which plans to sell a stake to Singapore Airlines. China National Aviation may vote against China Eastern’s plan on Jan. 8, Li has said.

“Li’s promotion is a big crisis for the deal between China Eastern and Singapore Airlines,” said Jack Xu, an analyst at SinoPac Securities in Shanghai. “Li won’t interfere in the deal as a regulator, but his new position will have a psychological impact on the rival.”

Originally published by Bloomberg.

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