Air China chairman named top air regulator -sources

SHANGHAI, Dec 28 (Reuters) - The chairman of Air China (0753.HK), the world's most valuable airline, has been appointed chief of China's civil aviation regulator, industry sources said on Friday.

The appointment of Li Jiaxiang was announced by the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, the sources said.

It was not immediatley known what would happen to his predecessor, Yang Yuanyuan, or who his replacement at Air China (601111.SS) would be.

The news comes ahead of a vote on Jan. 8 by China Eastern (0670.HK) shareholders -- which include the parent of Air China -- on a deal by Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI) and Temasek Holdings to buy a 24 percent stake in China Eastern (600115.SS) for about US$920 million.

Li told Reuters in October he did not rule out using Air China's position as a major holder of China Eastern's Hong Kong-listed shares to vote against the agreed purchase.

Air China's parent and its partner, Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK), had intended to buy into China Eastern but abandoned the plan in September for at least three months.

Chew Choon Seng, chief executive of Singapore Airlines, said earlier this month that his firm would not raise its bid for the stake in China Eastern.

Air China's Hong Kong-listed shares jumped 4.7 percent on Friday morning, outpacing a 1 percent drop on the benchmark index .HSI. The company's Shanghai shares were up nearly 7 percent.

China Eastern's shares were up 0.43 percent. (Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Writing by Fang Yan; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)