China Southern Airlines will join rivals Air China and China Eastern Airlines in establishing its own freight forwarding subsidiary, reported Aircargo News.

Si Xianmin, chairman of China Southern, said the company will have full operational control of the new subsidiary.

China Southern is embarking on a network and fleet expansion. It has eight freighters and has plans to purchase more over the next five years in order to bring contributions of freight transportation to 10 per cent of its total revenue.