The deal is the second involving Europe's Airbus and a Chinese airliner since the European Union agreed on November 12 to "stop the clock" on plans to force non-EU airlines to adopt its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

China Eastern Airlines (600115.SS) (0670.HK), one of the country's top three carriers, said in late November it had agreed to buy 60 Airbus A320 aircraft for about $5.4 billion.

Chinese airlines have been buying aircraft from Airbus and rival Boeing (BA.N) over the past few years as more Chinese travel.

China Southern said in a statement that the new aircraft would be funded through internal resources and loans from commercial banks and that the catalogue price of one Airbus A330-300 aircraft was $188 million, though airlines usually pay a lower price tag after negotiations.

Shares of China Southern closed up 2.3 percent in Hong Kong, in line with a 2.2 percent gain for the benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI.

For a copy of the statement, please click here

(Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Michael Urquhart)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency