Airfreight forwarders based in Hong Kong and Macau have been granted permission to set up jointly-owned or privately-run businesses on mainland China since the end of January.

According to the China Air Transport Association (CATA), which is responsible for examining applications, more than 20 companies have so far applied to join the scheme, reports Logistics Week.

Under the guidelines set out by CATA, sales agencies representing Hong Kong and Macau lines are required to have a registered capital of at least CNY1.5 million (US$193,374), compared to CNY500,000 for domestic lines. Application forms can be filed on CATA's web site at www.cata.org.cn.

At present, overseas companies are not allowed to operate airfreight forwarding businesses in China, although China is required under its WTO commitments to open up the market sooner rather than later, a move which sources say is currently being studied.