The Boeing Company is to increase its stake in the BHA Aero Composites Parts Co. Ltd. (BHA) by buying the shares Hexcel Corp. owns in the joint venture, the company told Xinhua on Thursday.

This would lift Boeing's ownership to a majority stake of 80 percent in the joint venture with China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I). The country's largest aviation manufacturer holds the remaining shares.

The deal would be worth 22.3 million U.S. dollars, according to early reports.

"BHA manufactures high-quality components for our commercial airplanes and is an integral part of the company's global supply chain," said Carolyn Corvi, vice president and general manager of Airplane Programs, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

"Increasing our ownership in a valuable supplier like BHA benefits both Boeing and China. Our investment will grow BHA to a global supplier, expand the Boeing presence in China and strengthen our efforts to develop this important market," she said.

Boeing said it would support BHA's expansion by acquiring rights to the land adjacent to the facility in Tianjin's Binhai New Area.

BHA was formed among Boeing, Hexcel and AVIC I in 2002 in Tianjin, north China. It specialized in manufacturing composite parts for commercial airplanes.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2008)