Skip to content
AidData logo

Overview

ICBCFL enters into lease agreement with Air Cairo for two CFM LEAP-1A-equipped Airbus A320neo aircraft

Commitment Year•2020Country of Activity•EgyptDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•EgyptSector•Transport And StorageFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Nov 1, 2020
Start (actual)
Apr 1, 2021
End (actual)
Dec 1, 2021

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

State-owned companies

  • Air Cairo

Loan description

ICBCFL enters into lease agreement with Air Cairo for two CFM LEAP-1A-equipped Airbus A320neo aircraft

Interest type•Unknown

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

In November 2020, ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. (ICBCFL) and Air Cairo enterred into long-term lease agreements for two CFM LEAP-1A-equipped Airbus A320neo aircraft. The aircraft are powered by CFM International LEAP-1A engines. The first aircraft was delivered in April 2021. The second aircraft was delivered in December 2021.

Staff comments

1. Air Cairo was established in 2003. It is owned by Egyptair (60%), the National Bank of Egypt (20%) and Banque Misr (20%). 2. Egyptair is the state-owned flag carrier of Egypt. The airline is headquartered at Cairo International Airport, its main hub, operating scheduled passenger and freight services to 81 destinations in Africa, Europe, Asia, and The Americas. Egyptair is a member of Star Alliance. 3. National Bank of Egypt (NBE) is a state-owned Egyptian bank. 4. Banque Misr SAE was established in 1920 as a commercial bank and is now the second-largest bank in Egypt with a strong presence in the domestic banking sector. Wholly owned by the state, it had a loan market share of 20% as of June 30, 2021. The bank currently has 725 electronically integrated local branches located nationwide to provide services to its customers in Egypt with plans to expand to 875 by the end of 2022. It has around 20,000 employees, serving a large base of more than 13 million clients in Egypt. Banque Misr is one of the most systemically important public-sector banks in the country given its history of state affiliation and strong domestic franchise. It is run as a profit-oriented commercial bank although its strategy is closely linked to the government’s macro-economic policy. Banque Misr provides a range of corporate, retail and investment banking services. Apart from Egypt, it has banking subsidiaries in Germany and Lebanon and branches in the UAE and France, while the Saudi Arabian cabinet granted the bank a license to open its first branch in the country. 5. 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.