Oman Brunei Aviation Leasing Company SAOC (“OBALC”) has sourced, negotiated and closed a financing facility with Arab Banking Corporation (B.S.C.) (“ABC”) for the purchase of two new B737-900ER aircraft leased to Oman Air.

Simon McLean, OBALC’s CEO, commented: “for our second transaction with Oman Air we selected ABC as our financing partner, giving us the ability to confidently and expeditiously provide the client, Oman Air, with a competitive leasing solution for two aircraft.”

He added that “ABC did a great job of accommodating a timescale of less than a month from the date we received the airline’s sale & leaseback mandate to the first aircraft delivery and, in doing so, they fully justified the confidence and trust we had placed in them.”

Jeremy Dixon, First Vice President, Project & Structured Finance at ABC, commented: “ABC is very proud to have successfully closed this transaction with OBALC. As a leading provider of project & structured finance solutions in the MENA region, we are pleased to be able to support the development of Oman’s first aircraft leasing company.”

OBALC is Oman’s first aircraft leasing company, specialising in the provision of tailored leasing, investment, asset management and remarketing solutions to leading airlines globally and investors. OBALC is owned by Oman Brunei Investment Company and the State General Reserve Fund of the Sultanate of Oman.

ABC is a leading international bank in the MENA region. Headquartered in Bahrain, it provides innovative wholesale financial products and services that include corporate banking, trade finance, project and structured finance, syndications, treasury products and Islamic banking. It also provides retail banking services through its network of retail banks in the region.