SHANGHAI, Feb 2 (Reuters) - China Eastern Airlines (0670) (CEA) plans to add 30 to 50 Airbus [ARBU.UL] (EAD) jets to its fleet over three years in an effort to expand market share in China and abroad, the official China Daily said on Saturday. The investment in new planes would cost at least 12 billion yuan ($1.45 billion), the price tag for 30 Airbus A320 planes, the paper quoted the airline's president Liu Shaoyong as saying. Liu was quoted as saying the airline's earnings last year had been "favourable to the airline's continued investment", but it did not give a specific profit figure for 2001. China Eastern officials were not immediately available for comment. The New York- and Hong Kong-listed airline said on Thursday it was selling two cargo jets this month, raising one billion yuan in cash to buy passenger jets. China Eastern is already set to take delivery of two Airbus jets in the first half and four Boeing (BA) 737s in the second half of 2002. It was not immediately clear whether the 30 to 50 new Airbus jets would include the two already set for delivery this year. China's airline sector is undergoing a massive state-ordered shakeup, with the three leading airlines -- flag carrier Air China, the largest by fleet size China Southern (1055) (ZNH), and China Eastern -- merging with seven smaller airlines over two years. State media has said the three carriers had suffered a combined $405 million in direct losses by the end of 2001 following the September 11 attacks on the United States. On Friday, China Eastern's Hong Kong shares closed down 1.83 percent at HK$1.070 and its New York stock ended six cents lower at $13.75. ($1 = 8.276 yuan)