Quantum Inv. Bank and Palma launch a aircraft leasing fund with Airbus

24/06/2015 13:19 AST

Quantum Investment Bank Limited and Palma Capital Limited, both based in the Dubai International Financial Centre have been retained as the exclusive placement agents for the launch of a Shari’ah compliant aircraft leasing fund (ALIF Fund) to be managed by the International Airfinance Corporation (IAFC) with Airbus and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) as anchor investors and strategic partners.

The new aircraft leasing fund was launched at a signing ceremony held in London on June 23rd, 2014. The ceremony was hosted by HRH Prince Turki Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Chairman of the Board of Quantum in the presence of the Airbus delegation led by Mr. Habib Fekih, President of Airbus Group MENA. Also present were Mr. Moulay Omar Alaoui, Chairman of Palma Capital and Dr. Idriss Ghodbane, CEO and Board Member of Quantum Investment Bank.

With a targeted size of $5 billion from a combination of equity and debt, the fund will focus exclusively on Airbus aircraft. The objective of the Fund is to achieve a risk adjusted medium to long-term capital appreciation while generating a quarterly cash dividend to investors. The Fund will operate according to Shari’ah principles and will purchase brand new and second hand Airbus aircraft to be leased to airline companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) member countries.

“Airbus has been very successful in growing its market share in the MENA region over the last two decades and this innovative financing initiative will enable us to satisfy our customers’ financing needs even more effectively,” said Mr. Habib Fekih, President of Airbus Group for MENA & Africa who is also the chairman of the board of ALIF Fund.

“We are extremely pleased to partner with Airbus and IDB in this transaction as we believe this is a pioneering Islamic investment initiative that will contribute to the development of Islamic capital markets. Quantum Investment bank will always be dedicated towards financial innovation and our goal is to propose to our clients new investment opportunities tailored for their financial needs,” said Dr. Idriss Ghodbane, CEO and Board Member of Quantum Investment bank who is also a Board member of IAFC.

“The establishment of ALIF Fund was derived from the strong interest of both investors and financiers for sharia compliant instruments that generate attractive and stable returns stemming from the ownership of commercial aircraft assets over an extended period of time. This is further reinforced by the inherently significant, growing need and demand for aircraft by airliners in the GCC and OIC member states,” according to Moulay Omar Alaoui Chairman of Palma Capital who is also the President & CEO of IAFC.

CPI Financial