Plane engine firms to join forces

China plans to merge more than 40 entities working on plane engines into a group with 145 billion yuan ($22 billion) in assets as part of a broader push into advanced industries to propel its economy, sources familiar with the proposal said.

They said the entities have combined assets currently of about 110 billion yuan.

The government and companies including Aviation Industry Corp of China, known as AVIC, will invest an additional 35 billion yuan under the plan, which could be announced as soon as this month, the sources said.