Air China Ltd, the nation's flagship carrier, is expected to issue A shares by August 22, making it the only Chinese airline listed in Hong Kong, London and Shanghai, the China Daily reported. The carrier plans to sell no more than 2.7 billion renminbi-denominated shares, or a 22.25-per-cent stake "The listing will provide new financing channels for Air China's future expansion," said Rao Xinyu, the company's board secretary. Air China is expected to raise 8 billion yuan through the domestic listing and will use the capital to finance the purchase of 45 aircraft as well as its airport expansion project in Beijing. Sinotrans Air will buy 80 million shares, the largest amount among the seven institutional investors. It is the first time the airfreight agent will have bought into a Chinese airline. The Shanghai-listed company is a unit of China National Foreign Trade Transportation (Group) Corp (SINOTRANS), one of China's largest logistics companies, said the paper. Analysts said the airfreight agent might hope to boost its own international airfreight business by partnering with Air China, which has the most extensive international flight network of China's airlines.