Air China Ltd. is planning an 8 billion yuan (US$1 billion; euro800 million) initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.

The IPO is among many planned by major state companies following the end of a yearlong moratorium on fundraising activities for shareholding reforms. Regulators are hoping the influx of big name companies might help boost investor confidence in the markets.

The IPO is planned for "later this year," Xinhua said, citing Zheng Bao'an, secretary of Air China's board.

"There is no timetable for the company to be listed on the mainland as we are still waiting for the approval from the commission," Zheng was quoted as saying.

The Beijing-based company said it submitted an application to the China Securities Regulatory Commission for the IPO. It earlier said it was seeking permission to offer shares in Shanghai, with proceeds to help finance aircraft purchases.

Air China, which has shares traded in Hong Kong, earlier said it plans to sell no more than 2.7 billion yuan-denominated shares, or about 28.62 percent of its existing share capital, to qualified institutional investors.

Air China's shares were unchanged Wednesday morning at 2.9 Hong Kong dollars (37 U.S. cents; 29 euro cents).

The former government monopoly carrier operates many of China's international flights _ including nonstop from Beijing to New York. It was broken up into smaller regional carriers in the early 1980s in the first of several rounds of industry restructuring.

The airline is upgrading its jets and facilities amid intense competition from major rivals such as China Eastern Airlines Corp. and China Southern Airlines Co.

The share listing requires the approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission and other government agencies.