Vietjet inks financing agreements for fleet expansion hinh anh 1Vietjet Vice President Dinh Viet Phuong (center) exchanges copies of  aircraft financing agreement with a representative of Japanese companies (Photo: Vietjet)

Tokyo (VNA)Low-cost carrier Vietjet on October 10 signed and exchanged an aircraft financing agreement with Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Company Limited (MUL), a member of Japan’s leading finance group Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and the banking group BNP Paribas of France.

The agreement paves the way for MUL and BNP Paribas to finance Vietjet’s acquisition of five brand-new aircraft totalling 614 million USD, according to the manufacturer’s listed price.

In addition, the carrier also inked a memorandum of understanding with French banking group Natixis and some Japanese equity underwriters to facilitate financing for five other aircraft with a total value of 625 million USD.

These deals have been made under a financing plan for Vietjet’s future ownership of the aircraft.

The acquisition of all these aircraft is part of a new-and-modern aircraft contract signed earlier between Vietjet and Airbus, including A321neo aircraft. They will be delivered to Vietjet in the last quarter of 2018 or early 2019.

“The critical financing agreements signed today once again confirm the confidence of leading Japanese financiers in Vietjet as the airline prepares to launch new routes to Japan soon. Also, these deals will greatly contribute to Vietjet’s plan for fleet expansion and network growth in the coming time, thus helping to better connect Japan and Vietnam,” Vietjet’s Vice President Dinh Viet Phuong, said at the signing ceremony.

Under the terms of the agreement, Vietjet and all financing partners will also work together to share best practices for the operation and management of the airline, boosting effectiveness and encouraging sustainable growth.

Vietjet is the first airline in Vietnam to operate as a new-age airline offering low cost and diversified services to meet customers’ demands.

Currently, Vietjet operates 60 A320, A321 aircraft with more than 385 flights daily, carrying more than 65 million passengers to date, with 101 routes covering destinations across Vietnam and international destinations such as Japan, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan (China), Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Cambodia.-VNA
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