Leasing
SMBC Aviation Capital sets up in Hong Kong
November 1st 2018
Global aircraft lessor, SMBC Aviation Capital, has provided a win for the fledging Hong Kong aircraft leasing sector with the announcement that it would open an operating company in Hong Kong this month. Read More » The lessor, with headquarters in Dublin, previously operated in the Hong Kong with an affiliated company.
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SMBC Aviation Capital CEO, Peter Barrett, said in Hong Kong last month: “We are opening another chapter in the story of SMBC Aviation Capital. Hong Kong is an attractive place for us to do business. It is one of the Asian capital markets hubs, serves as a home base for a multitude of aviation related businesses and remains a key centre for global trade.
“Additionally, as the low-cost airline model gathers pace in China and elsewhere in the region, we are determined to bring to bear our expertise to service new and existing customers.
“We have reached a size and scale in Hong Kong where it makes sense for us to set up a subsidiary. It also underpins our strategy to build our presence in one of the fastest growing airline markets in the world.”
Barrett said SMBC would maintain its principal presence in Dublin “which continues to serve our business and industry extremely well, with a strong eco system, treaty network and other government support”, he said.
SMBC has 100 airline customers in 42 countries. At March 31 this year it owned managed and was committed to 670 aircraft. Established in 2001, the lessor was acquired 11 years later by a consortium that mainly included Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and the Sumitomo Corporation.
At the AirFinance Journal Hong Kong Aircraft Leasing Taxation Workshop in October, several speakers said many aircraft lessors appear interested in setting up an aircraft leasing platform in Hong Kong and that far more are privately exploring the potential use of the tax regime.
“At the beginning said treasurer of the Hong Kong Aircraft Leasing Association and PwC partner, Clarence Leung, “airlines resisted doing deals in Hong Kong because they have never used the tax regime.But since ICBC persuaded Korean Air to lease aircraft from it in Hong Kong, airlines are getting a bit more receptive to using Hong Kong.”
