Status of public float
Air China Ld
26 September 2006
AIR CHINA LIMITED
(a joint stock limited company incorporated in the People's Republic
of China with limited liability)
(Stock Code: 753)
UPDATE ON STATUS OF PUBLIC FLOAT
Reference is made to the joint announcement issued by the Company,
Cathay, CNAC Limited, CITIC Pacific and SPAC on 8th June 2006, the
circular to the Shareholders issued by the Company dated 3 July 2006
(the Circular), and the results of the general meeting of the Company
held on 23 August 2006, regarding, inter alia, the Company's proposed
issuance of additional H Shares to Cathay pursuant to the
Restructuring Agreement (the New Share Issuance). Unless otherwise
defined, capitalised terms in the Circular have the same meanings when
used in this announcement.
The purpose of this announcement is to provide the Shareholders with
an update on the status of the Company's public float issue as a
result of the review of the Exchange's decision and the Company's
subsequent issuance of A shares. Details of the relevant background
and reasons for the Company's request for a review of the Exchange's
decision are set out in the letter from the Board and the letter from
the Independent Financial Adviser of the Circular.
On 16 June 2006, the listing division of the Exchange (the Listing
Division) rejected the Company's application for a waiver from strict
compliance with the minimum public float requirement under the Listing
Rules. At the request of the Company, on 1 August 2006, the listing
committee of the Exchange (the Listing Committee) conducted a review
of the Listing Division's decision. The Board is pleased to announce
that on 8 August 2006, the Listing Committee resolved to reverse the
decision of the Listing Division and granted a temporary public float
waiver to the Company for a period of three months from the completion
of the New Share Issuance.
Further to the decision of the review, on 18 August 2006, the Company
successfully completed its issuance of A shares, details of which are
set out in the announcement issued by the Company on 17 August 2006.
The Restructuring Agreement became unconditional on 22 September 2006
and the New Share Issuance is expected to take place on 27 September
2006. As a result of Company's issuance of A shares, the Board expects
that the public float of the Company immediately upon the New Share
Issuance will become approximately 31.01%, which would be in excess of
24.20%, being the minimum public float as required under the Listing
Rules and the waiver granted by the Exchange to the Company dated 25
November 2004.
As at the date of this announcement, the directors of the Company are:
Non-Executive Directors: Li Jiaxiang (Chairman), Kong Dong,
Christopher Pratt, Wang Shixiang, Yao Weiting;
Executive Directors: Ma Xulun, Cai Jianjiang, Fan Cheng; and
Independent Non-Executive Directors: Hu Hung Lick, Henry, Wu Zhipan,
Zhang Ke and Jia Kang.
By order of the Board of
Air China Limited
Zheng Baoan Li Man Kit
Joint Company Secretaries
Beijing, 25th September 2006
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange D
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