CHINA Eastern Airlines' board has approved the sale of a 24 percent stake to Singapore Airlines and Singapore's Temasek Holdings, the financial magazine Caijing reported, though none of the companies involved would confirm today that a deal has been reached.

Caijing said in its online edition, citing unnamed sources, that the board of Shanghai-based China Eastern, the country's third-biggest carrier, approved the sale at a meeting on Friday, according to The Associated Press.

Singapore International Airlines would pay 4.7 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$602 million) for 1.24 billion Hong Kong shares in China Eastern, representing a 15.8 percent stake, Caijing said.

Temasek, an investment arm of the Singaporean government, would pay HK$640 million for an 8.2 percent stake, it said.

The plan would involve issuing 2.98 billion new Hong Kong-traded "H shares," boosting state-owned China Eastern's market capitalization by about 60 percent, the report said. China Eastern also has shares traded in Shanghai.

Staff at China Eastern Airlines' headquarters said the company had no official comment but would release a statement when it was ready. The company's spokesman was not available.

Temasek declined to respond to the report, saying it was not the company's policy to comment on market speculation.

"Discussions with China Eastern are ongoing, but there has been no agreement reached," said Stephen Forshaw, spokesman for Singapore Airlines.