Biman Bangladesh Airlines has received a $277 million loan facility from J.P. Morgan, guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank of the United States, to support its long-term expansion plans. The airline, which is wholly owned by the government of Bangladesh, will use the loan to buy two new Boeing aircraft to service its expanding domestic and international route network.
“Following the launch of our representative office in October last year, we have focused on providing our Bangladesh clients with even greater access to J.P. Morgan’s comprehensive suite of global solutions,” said Sazzad Anam, head of financial institutions for Bangladesh at J.P. Morgan treasury services, in a statement. “We look forward to strengthening our partnership with Biman as they continue to ramp up their expansion.”
The loan facility will be repaid on a quarterly basis over a period of 12 years. According to J.P. Morgan, this deal will be the first aircraft delivery since Biman placed an order for 10 aircraft with Boeing in 2008. The US bank has nearly 50 years of experience handling US Ex-Im Bank guaranteed transactions. It provided a $1.1 billion structured trade loan to Air India to purchase 11 Boeing aircraft at the beginning of February last year.
“As this dynamic region continues to grow and develop, we are seeing a surge in interest from clients across all sectors seeking structured trade finance solutions,” said Adeline Kow, head of export finance advisory for Asia-Pacific at J.P. Morgan treasury services. “Many companies, particularly those based in emerging and frontier markets, are aggressively expanding their business and seeking cost effective, large-scale funding to facilitate their strategic growth plans.”
Biman is a member of the International Air Transport Association and operates an international route network through 19 destinations in Asia and Europe. It has a fleet of 11 aircraft that carried 1.62 million passengers and more than 32,000 tonnes of cargo last year.
