Dubai: Dubai-headquartered aviation services firm Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Ltd announced Wednesday it has signed a $420 million 5-year unsecured term loan with China Construction Bank (DIFC Branch) and China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited (CCB).
The loan will support the future financing needs of the business, the plane lessor announced in a statement.
Firoz Tarapore, CEO of DAE, said, “This term loan will further strengthen our already exceptional liquidity, which stood at $4.1 billion at the end of 2023. We would like to thank the CCB DIFC Branch and CCB (Asia) for their continued support and look forward to continuing to work with CCB in the future.”
Last year, DAE secured financing totalling $1.6 billion from 26 lenders, making this the biggest loan financing raised by the company. DAE reported a 16 per cent increase in 2023 revenue, amounting to $1.3 billion and a profit of $351 million.
Yuan Shengrui, the Senior Executive Officer at China Construction Bank (DIFC Branch), said, “CCB DIFC Branch is delighted to collaborate again with DAE, a globally significant enterprise in the aviation sector.” He added, “We are dedicated to maintaining a customer-centric approach, leveraging CCB Group’s competitive advantage in the financial market and continue to strive to provide DAE with a more diverse range of financial products and services.”
DAE acquired 20 aircraft (10 owned and ten managed), while the number of aircraft sold settled at 30 (22 owned and eight managed). The company signed 150 lease agreements, extensions, and amendments (114 owned and 36 managed). DAE booked around 1.5 million man-hours and performed 316 checks in 2023.
Daphne Wat, Deputy Chief Executive at China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited, said, “DAE is one of the top players in the global aviation industry. We look forward to continuing the partnership with DAE with our strong presence in the aviation sector and proficiency in the Hong Kong syndication market.”
