China Southern sees sunnier skies in H2

After a loss in the first six months, China Southern Airlines Co, Asia's biggest carrier by passenger numbers, forecast a better second half as economic growth picks up and the yuan's volatility eases, Chairman Si Xianmin said.

The company's American depositary receipts rose 1.1 percent on Wednesday in New York to a five-month high, paring this year's slump to 11 percent. The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index slipped 0.5 percent to 112.14, the lowest level in two weeks.

China Southern, which is the most reliant on the domestic market among the nation's biggest carriers, is accelerating its overseas expansion to help improve its "unbalanced" network structure, Si said. The carrier started a Guangzhou-to-New York route on Wednesday.