MANAMA, 14 July 2003 — Jeddah-based National Air Services (NAS) and Arab Banking Corporation (B.S.C.) (ABC), headquartered in Bahrain, yesterday announced the signing of an agreement for the financing of a Gulfstream IV-SP aircraft. NAS is a private aviation industry leader in the Middle East, and will be immediately introducing this new $30 million aircraft into its “NetJets Middle East” Fractional Aircraft Program (NJME).
ABC is the largest bank in the Middle East and its Global Project & Structured Finance unit is a market leader in providing integrated financing services to clients throughout the region.
This international bank financing is the second announced this year by NAS and is part of a long-term financing strategy currently being implemented by the company.
Senior officers of NAS and ABC, headed by NAS Chairman Dr. Khalil A. Kurdi and ABC President and Chief Executive Officer Ghazi M. Abdul-Jawad, attended the signing ceremony.
Dr. Kurdi said the agreement represented yet another enhancement of the company’s operational profile in the region, increasing the availability of new top-of-the-line business aircraft for local prospects and extending the company’s ability to provide comprehensive, safe and secure solutions, with the highest levels of service to all users of private aircraft in the region. “The delivery of our 11th aircraft for the NJME program is our twenty-first overall, and this milestone agreement with ABC is yet another vote of confidence in the ability of NAS to service the growing business aviation market in the Middle East,” Kurdi said.
Abdul-Jawad said: “ABC is pleased to support a regional company that we believe has the potential to continue to develop into a clear market leader in its industry in the Middle East. The financing facility combines a secure structure from ABC’s perspective, with considerable financial flexibility for NAS and the platform for future growth.”
This financing is the latest of several specialized asset-backed financing transactions, which ABC has been involved with around the world.
ABC established a dedicated Global Project & Structured Finance unit at the beginning of 2001 and the bank has successfully positioned itself as a leader in this field in the Middle East region.
ABC offers the full spectrum of project and structured finance services for clients, including financial advisory, debt structuring, underwriting, arranging and syndication.
Established in 1980, ABC is a leading regional banking corporation that has a worldwide strategic network, with its head office in Bahrain.
ABC has branch offices, subsidiaries and affiliates in more than 30 locations providing a comprehensive range of conventional and Islamic banking services and products, with a primary focus on the Arab World.
NAS was established in 1999 and quickly became a leading provider of private aviation services in the Middle East, establishing additional offices in Cairo, Riyadh and Bahrain. The company offers a comprehensive range of services, including the NJME program, a growing private aircraft charter program, a private aircraft management program and a hybrid program which combines the benefits of all three of these services into one unique package.
In only its fifth year of operation, with these four programs in place, the company is the largest and fastest growing private aviation operation in the region.
Kurdi added: “NAS offers the unique proposition to Middle East customers of unparalleled international service through a truly local company and prides itself on being able to offer flexible, unique, high quality, low cost solutions to all types of private aircraft users, regardless of their diversified requirements.”