A Malaysian tour operator today said it will invest six million dollars to lease two Boeing-757 aircraft to mount charter flights to China starting this August.

MAS-BE Airlines Sdn Bhd Chairman Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman said the company was issued with an air service permit for charter flights by Malaysia's Civil Aviation Department in May last year.

Abdul Aziz said the company also intended to expand direct charter flight services to Europe, Australia and Japan.

MAS-BE Airlines executive director Ng Kek Kiong said the company planned to provide 15 direct routes to major cities in China like Chengdu, Kunming, Xian, Guiyang, Nanning, Zhengzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Qingdao, Changsha, Shanghai, Beijing, Urumqi, Jinan and Shantou.

Services to Chengdu, Xian, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Shantou and Guiyang would start in August this year, he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

Ng said about 110,000 tourists from China visited Malaysia last year.

The announcement comes on the back of Malaysia's budget carrier AirAsia's plan to launch long-haul flights to China and Europe later this year.