China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd., a Shanghai-headquartered large air carrier, planned to issue not more than CNY 1.4 billion short-term financing bonds as a proposal put forwarded at its annual shareholders' meeting on June 30, 2008.
Facing soaring aviation oil prices and weak market demand, the listed company said it was hard to forecast the performance in the whole year although it might make profit in the first half. Citibank and JP Morgan Chase & Co. estimated on June 30 that the airline would lose money this year.

The plan to cooperate with Singapore Airlines has been in stagnancy since being vetoed by a shareholders' meeting in 2007, putting the company into more urgent need of capital. The company expressed that it would keep on promoting the introduction of strategic investors but did not release the timetable for that.

The cooperation with Singapore Airlines is expected to have no progress before the Beijing Olympics because the major business of airlines in the country is to ensure air transportation services during the sports meet.