Boeing, Oasis Leasing organize roundtable on airplane financing

The roundtable was attended by leading financial and investment banking professionals in the UAE.

Salem Rashid Al Noaimi, Acting CEO of Oasis Leasing, said the roundtable was aimed at sharing experiences and updating professionals on recent developments in the industry. "It is in line with our strategy of communicating effectively with our partners in the banking and finance industry, and serves our need to explore emerging investment opportunities in the region," he said.

Al Noaimi added that Oasis is now well established in the region as a specialist in airplane leasing. "We have a variety of financing options that help reduce investment costs for aviation companies while increasing operational efficiency," Al Noaimi said.

He noted that 50 percent of the aviation sector worldwide depend on leasing which has become the best option for airlines to expand their fleets.

"We expect that the sector will continue to grow rapidly in the region this year although the size of the industry is relatively small compared to other regions. However, the increase in the number of passengers, the establishment of new aviation companies and the rapidly growing economies in the region are pointers to further growth,"

he said.

Al Noaimi appreciated the initiative taken by Boeing to conduct the roundtable, which is an ideal platform for aviation industry leading investment and finance experts to meet, network and enhance their knowledge of the trends in the industry.

The visiting Boeing team provided the financiers with financial and performance highlights of The Boeing Company and Boeing Capital. According to John Matthews, Middle East & Africa managing director for aircraft financial services at Boeing Capital, "the goal of the roundtable was to provide bankers with current information that will assist them in making decisions about aircraft financing transactions, in an interactive, small group format and to help financiers better understand and differentiate value and advantages of Boeing airplanes relative to those of the competition."