TIANJIN, July 29 (Xinhua) — A ceremony was held Friday to celebrate the delivery of the 2,000th aircraft leased by the Dongjiang Free Trade Port Zone (DFTP) in north China’s Tianjin Municipality. .
The 2,000th leased aircraft is an ARJ21 airliner developed by state-owned aircraft manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC).
After delivery, Hohhot in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region will be the aircraft’s main operating base.
DFTP launched the aircraft leasing business in 2009. It has now become the second largest aircraft leasing hub in the world, after Ireland, in terms of overall asset volume.
The ARJ21 airliner is leased by the Agricultural Bank of China Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. and will be delivered to Air China for use.
A total of 2,000 aircraft delivered to Dongjiang covers more than 70 aircraft types, including passenger aircraft, cargo aircraft and multi-purpose helicopters, with a total asset value of 600 billion yuan (about 89 billion U.S. dollars). US), serving more than 40 domestic and foreign airlines.
“It means that the aviation industry, as a high-end service industry, has good development momentum in China, sending a new signal for China’s high-quality development,” said Zhang Wei, professor. at Tianjin University, which issued the leasing. Dongjiang Industrial Development Index.
Dongjiang is the core area of the Tianjin Free Trade Pilot Zone and a national demonstration area for innovative leasing companies.
Since the first aircraft was leased from Dongjiang in 2009, China has completed its first aircraft leasing business in the domestic market. Previously, most Chinese civilian aircraft were imported through foreign leasing companies.
After more than 10 years of development, Dongjiang has taken the lead in developing various aircraft rental models and serving countries along the Belt and Road.
“The number of aircraft leased here accounts for about one-sixth of the global aircraft leasing market,” said Yang Liu, director of the zone’s administrative committee.
By the end of 2021, the number of planes leased from Dongjiang accounted for more than a third of China’s transport fleet, according to the local authority.
Through the bonded aircraft leasing model, Chinese airlines have saved about 6% in direct leasing costs compared to overseas financial leasing. Combined with other factors, tens of billions of yuan in costs have been saved.