Kenya Airways picks Afreximbank for financing

The company, which raised 14.5 billion shillings in a rights issue earlier this month, plans to spend $3.6 billion over the next five years to increase its fleet and routes.

By AGENCIES

KENYA Airways has selected Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to arrange financing for the purchase of 20 new aircraft, the carrier said on Monday.

The company, which raised 14.5 billion shillings in a rights issue earlier this month, plans to spend $3.6 billion over the next five years to increase its fleet and routes.

Afreximbank will arrange finances for the purchase of 10 Embraer-190s from Brazilian plane maker Embraer, nine Boeing 787-800s (Dreamliners) from Boeing Co. and one Boeing 777-300ER.

"The financing package consists of a pre-delivery payments (PDPs) facility and an aircraft delivery finance facility," Kenya Airways said in a statement.

Kenya Airways, which is 26.73 percent owned by AirFrance KLM, said the Embraers would be delivered in the third quarter of this year while delivery of the Dreamliners is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2014.

"Africa is said to be the next economic growth frontier, it is therefore important to have an efficient transport infrastructure," said Titus Naikuni, chief executive of Kenya Airways.

Cairo-based Afreximbank was founded in 1993 and focuses on trade finance.