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Overview

ICBC Leasing leases one Airbus A320 aircraft to Air Berlin

Commitment Year•2015Country of Activity•GermanyDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•GermanySector•Transport And StorageFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Nov 20, 2015
Start (actual)
Nov 30, 2015
End (actual)
Nov 30, 2015

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Ultimate beneficial owners

At least 25% host country ownership

Funding agencies

State-owned companies

  • ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. (ICBCFL) (ICBC Leasing)

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG

Loan description

ICBC Leasing leases one Airbus A320 aircraft to Air Berlin

Interest type•Unknown

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On November 20, 2015, financial close was reached on a deal in which Sky High XLIX Leasing Company Limited, a subsidiary of ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. (ICBCFL) — a Chinese state-owned leasing company and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — entered into an operating lease agreement with Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG — a German airline, Germany's second largest, headquartered in Berlin — for one Airbus A320 aircraft. The aircraft, MSN 6877, was a narrowbody. The aircraft was delivered on November 30, 2015, where it was registered as D-ABNQ. On August 15, 2017, Air Berlin filed for insolvency after its key shareholder Etihad Airways announced it would no longer support the airliner after years of losses; ICBC Leasing's A320 aircraft was still on lease at the time of insolvency. The aircraft ceased operations with Air Berlin on October 27, 2017. Then, on January 10, 2018, ICBC Leasing delivered the aircraft on lease to EasyJet Europe, where it was registered as OE-IZQ and named 'Berlin'.

Staff comments

1. A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee (user) to pay the lessor (owner) for use of an asset. The lessor is the legal owner of the asset, while the lessee obtains the right to use the asset in return for regular rental payments. Under a capital lease (a financial arrangement where the lessee/borrower uses an asset and pays regular installments plus interest to the lender/lessor), rental payments are usually classified as interest and obligation payments, similarly to a mortgage (with the interest calculated each rental period on the outstanding obligation balance). AidData codes capital leases as loans.