The parents of China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines are expected to each get three billion yuan (440 million dollars) to tide them over hard times, state media reported Monday.

The two carriers will likely get the money to offset the adverse impact of weakening demand and high fuel costs, the Shanghai Securities News said, citing unnamed sources.

A number of other firms controlled by the central government are also likely to receive cash injections, the paper reported, without saying which.

China`s three major airlines have had a bad year, with China Eastern posting a 2.3 billion yuan loss in the first nine months, while Air China was 657 million yuan in red in the same period.

China Southern had 28 million yuan in profit for the first three quarters but it lost 810 million yuan from July to September, the report said.

China Eastern`s debt-to-equity ratio has exceeded 98 percent while that of China Southern has reached more than 80 percent, the newspaper said.