HK-based aircraft leasing company to expand

China Aircraft Leasing Co Ltd, which is headquartered in Hong Kong, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus SAS to order 36 A320 aircraft at the UK’s Farnborough International Airshow, Airbus said on July 11.

CALC has a fleet of 16 aircraft currently, including 11 Airbus. The leasing company plans to enlarge its fleet to 100 aircraft by 2015, said Poon Ho Man, founder and CEO of the company.

The company is also waiting for another eight Airbus aircraft to be delivered.

The order will expand CALC's Airbus aircraft to 50 and, according to the listed price, the orders may be worth more than $3.1 billion.

"The orders will help us to achieve the aim of being the main aircraft leasing company in Asia," Poon said.

CALC also plans to launch an initial public offering in Hong Kong in order to get additional funds to expand its fleet, the company said on July 10.

But Poon did not talk about the timetable for the IPO.

The company ordered 20 C919s, the China-made large passenger jet, in December 2011.

CALC was founded in 2006 by Friedmann Pacific Asset Management Co Ltd, which is based in Hong Kong, and owns 48 percent of the company.

In 2011, China Everbright Ltd - a subsidiary of a State-owned investment company - purchased 44 percent of CALC. China Aerospace Investment Holdings Ltd, a state-holding company, also has 8 percent of the company.