AIRBUS & La CHINE

Airbus, the European aircraft maker, has agreed a memorandum of understanding with a leading Chinese bank for the provision of financing for jet deliveries to Chinese domestic airlines.

The MoU signed with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) could lead to the bank’s leasing arm providing financing support for up to 70 A320 short-haul jets to be assembled at the new Airbus plant in Tianjin, China, during the next five years.The initial aircraft from the Tianjin production line, the first Airbus assembly plant outside Europe, will be delivered next month, and the plant is due to produce up to four a month by the end of 2011. The first delivery will be made to Sichuan Airlines, with 11 A320s to be produced in China by the end of this year.

Airbus said the MoU with ICBC covered co-operation in both aircraft financing and leasing including management activities, the structuring of operating and finance lease transactions and portfolio management and the remarketing of aircraft, when they return from lease.

The total value of ICBC financial support would be more than Rmb20bn ($3bn). In addition ICBC could offer financing for aircraft delivered from Airbus’s European plants, and it may place future orders itself directly with Airbus to meet airline leasing needs.

Jiang Jianqing, chairman of ICBC, said the deal was primarily aimed, however, at providing financing solutions for airlines taking delivery of jets from the Tianjin assembly plant to ensure a “smooth” build up of production at the facility.

Airlines around the world have struggled during the credit crunch to finance new deliveries, and Tom Enders, Airbus chief executive, said in the current economic environment “aircraft financing remains very challenging.”

Jeannot a écrit:Assistons-nous là à la naissance d'un nouveau grand du financement ? C'est peut être le début d'une nouvelle ère.