Airbus Group spent HK$180million to enlarged shareholdings in Avichina

Avichina (2357.HK) announced that on 13 December 2018, that a number of institutions have increased their shareholdings on the Company, in which their existing strategic shareholder, Airbus Group spent HK$180million in enlarging their shareholdings to 5% in approximate. The increase in shareholdings has been the third time since they entered into strategic cooperation since the IPO of Avichina in 2003.

In the past 15 years, Avichina and Airbus Group has been expanding and enhancing their level of collaboration based on the capital and project cooperation entered at the first place. From the A320 assembly line, the Hafei Airbus Composites Manufacturing Center, to the H175 medium-sized helicopter development and production, both sides have been cooperating in different forms spanning multiple areas of the aviation industry chain. At present, the A320 assembly line has assembled and delivered nearly 400 aircraft, and will achieve a production of 6 aircrafts per month by 2020. The H175 helicopter was certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency in 2017 and delivered to the Hong Kong Government Flying Service in 2018. The Hafei Airbus Composites Manufacturing Center mainly produces composite parts for the A320 family of aircraft and the latest A350XWB widebody aircraft. They also successfully delivered the 1000th A320 aircraft rudder in 2017, the world's only supplier of this product. AVIC is the flagship company of China Aviation Industry specializing in high-tech and military-civilian integrated aviation products and services. The increase in shareholdings from Airbus Group further deepens and consolidates the strategic partnership between two major aviation manufacturing giants in China and Europe and adds a bigger room for wider cooperation in the future.