The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) signed a contract Monday with the China Eastern Airlines (CEA), promising a credit line of 17.6 billion yuan (US$ 2.12 billion) between 2002 and 2003.

The first listed airline in China's civil aviation sector, the CEA will use the loan for purchase and lease of airplanes to expand its operations.

Sources from the ICBC said that the bank would also provide the airline a package of services such as capital settlement, corporate banking, financial consultation, risk management and the bank card business.

A service agreement for online settlement in Renminbi was also signed.

Headquartered in Shanghai, the CEA owns more than 70 large and medium-sized aircraft produced by the Airbus and the Boeing companies.

Its 2,200 weekly flights on more than 200 domestic and international routes cover most of the world including Asia, Europe and the Americas.

( Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2002)