China Air Cargo, the nation's first exclusive air cargo mail carrier based in Shanghai, on Thursday signed a contract with two French banks on credit extension for aircraft purchase.

Under the accord, the France Societe Generale Bank and Banque Indosuez will grant a loan for the Chinese air cargo operator to buy a Boeing 747-400 cargo plane.

The aircraft will be owned by the China Air Cargo after the company repay the loan in 12 years, a company official said, but declining to reveal how much the loan is.

The Boeing 747-400 cargo plane, the first of its kind the China Air Cargo will import, has a loading capacity of 120 tons. It will be delivered at the end of August and will fly the routes between China and the United States, the official said.

The official added that in the second half of next year, the China Air Cargo will buy its second Boeing 747-400 cargo plane.

The China Air Cargo was jointly established in 1998 by the China Eastern Airlines, one of the three leading carriers in the country, and the China Ocean Shipping Group Co. (COSCO). Now the company has six MD-11 cargo planes, operating air routes to the United States, Europe, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Hong Kong.

In a related development, the China Air Cargo is preparing to launch a 50-50 joint venture with another Chinese cargo carrier affiliated to Air China, also one of the three leading airlines in China.

(Xinhua News Agency June 30, 2006)