Ex-Im Bank Agrees To Finance Egyptair Purchase Of Five Boeing 737-800 Aircraft At Signing Ceremony
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At a ceremony at Ex-Im Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg (center); Mohamed Hassan (left), advisor to the chairman of EgyptAir Holding Co.; and Astar Saleh (right), executive director of JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., signed documents finalizing Ex-Im Bank's support for EgyptAir's purchase of five Boeing 737-800 aircraft as part of the airline's major fleet renewal. |
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) and EgyptAir, the national flag carrier of Egypt, today signed documents finalizing Ex-Im Bank's support for EgyptAir's purchase of five Boeing 737-800 aircraft as part of a major fleet renewal.
At a ceremony at Ex-Im Bank headquarters, Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg; Mohamed Hassan, advisor to the chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company; and Astar Saleh, executive director, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., signed financing documents related to Ex-Im Bank's guarantee of a loan from JP Morgan Chase.
Also in attendance at the ceremony were H.E. Ambassador Sameh Shoukry, ambassador to the United States, The Arab Republic of Egypt; and John Matthews, managing director-Middle East & Africa, Boeing Capital Corporation.
Hochberg noted that in the current economic environment, the fleet renewal requires a scale of financing difficult to secure from the private sector alone, and we are glad to fill the gap as the United States' official export credit agency. This is good for Egypt, good for the regional and world economy, and good for American workers.
The first of the five financed 737-800 aircraft will be delivered to Egyptair by Boeing on the Friday after the signing ceremony in Seattle, Washington. The aircraft are equipped with CFM56-7 engines made by CFM International Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio.
In addition to fleet renewal, as part of its effort to become a major global hub Egyptair has become a member of the Star Alliance, a global airline alliance that will provide EgyptAir's passengers with world-wide reach through 17,000 daily flights to 916 destinations in 160 different countries.
The airline also recently opened Terminal 3 at Cairo International Airport for Star Alliance members. The terminal, equipped with cutting edge airport IT systems and airport and passenger technologies, is designed to carry 14 million passengers a year, more than triple today's volume.
Ex-Im Bank and EgyptAir both are celebrating their 75th anniversaries this year.
In fiscal year 2008, Ex-Im Bank authorized just under $1 billion in support of U.S. large aircraft exports to the Middle East and North Africa. So far in fiscal year 2009, the Bank has doubled that figure to more than $2 billion in financings of large aircraft to the Middle East and North Africa. The Bank's total exposure for large aircraft support in the region is currently $4.8 billion, out of a total of over $30 billion globally.
Ex-Im Bank is an independent, self-sustaining federal agency that helps to create and maintain U.S. jobs by financing the sale of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, by providing loan guarantees, export-credit insurance and direct loans. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.