China launches state-owned aircraft engine maker: State media

China has set up a state-owned aircraft engine maker with registered capital of 50 billion yuan ($7.50 billion), state television said on Sunday, in the latest bid to develop home-grown, high-tech capacities to compete in international markets.

The government has been overhauling its state-owned sector to push Chinese products and services up the value chain. Under that drive, it has prioritised aircraft engines, high-speed rail and nuclear power as areas it wants China to excel in.

China's Cabinet, Beijing municipal government, the Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) and Commercial Aircraft Corp of China are investors of the new company, it said.

The new company, called China Aero-Engine Group and with 96,000 employees, will focus on designing, manufacturing and testing of aircraft engines, the report said, adding that it will be of "great significant (sic) for the future development of China's aviation industry".

In March, state-owned AVIC said it was finalising a 129 billion yuan merger of its aircraft engine businesses, in a move to create a giant that could eventually compete with the likes of United Technologies Corp's aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney.