Regional Round-Up
China’s lessors buying global competitors
September 1st 2014
Since Mainland China’s five largest banks received permission to enter the global aircraft leasing market in 2007, they have built significant market share among their country’s airlines and the with aircraft manufacturers. The most recent development was the China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings deal to lease Air India five A320s, the Mainland company’s first foreign client. Read More » Last month, a company owned by Asia’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, posted a notice with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it was in discussions with AWAS. Media reports said the billionaire was prepared to pay up to US$5 billion for 100 of the newest aircraft in the Dublin-based lessor’s fleet of 280 planes – a price industry analysts immediately debunked as too high.
Separately, Chinese sovereign wealth fund, the US$653 billion China Investment Corp. (CIC), and aerospace firm, Aviation Industry Corp. of China, held talks last month with another aircraft lessor, Avolon, with the intention of also paying up to US$5 billion, including debt, for the company. Avolon’s main shareholders are private equity firms, Cinven, CVC Capital, Oak Hill Capital and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. Avolon said 30% of its lessor business is in emerging Asian markets.
