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Overview

ICBC Leasing enters into a sale-and-leaseback agreement with Air Berlin for one Airbus A320 aircraft

Commitment Year•2013Country of Activity•GermanyDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•GermanySector•Transport And StorageFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Pipeline: Commitment

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Mar 15, 2013
Start (planned)
Jun 30, 2013
End (planned)
Jun 30, 2013

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 enters into a sale-and-leaseback agreement with Air Berlin for one Airbus A320 aircraft

Interest type•Unknown

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

Prior to March 25, 2013, 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 sale-and-leaseback agreement with Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG — a German airline, Germany's second largest, headquartered in Berlin — for one Airbus 320 aircraft. The aircraft was to be equipped with fuel-saving Sharklets and delivered in June 2013. 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 had three A320s on lease to Air Berlin at the time of insolvency, presumably including the one delivered in June 2013

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. 2. Sale and leaseback (or sale-leaseback) agreements are generally considered to be off-balance-sheet hybrid debt products.