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BOC Aviation’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Robert Martin (left), and Vice Chairman and Deputy Managing Director Wang Genshan attend a news conference in Hong Kong on May 18, 2016. Photo: Reuters
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BOC Aviation ends unchanged after raising HK$4.52 billion in Hong Kong debut

Sijia Jiang
Sijia Jiang
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Asia’s largest aircraft lessor BOC Aviation made its trading debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange Wednesday, after raising HK$4.52 billion from cornerstone investors including Boeing.

The company’s shares ended the session unchanged at HK$42, equal to its offer price, after trading as much as 4.4 per cent higher during intraday trade.

The Bank of China subsidiary’s Hong Kong public offering was 38.6 times oversubscribed. A total of 31.23 million shares, or 15 per cent of its global offering, were alloted to Hong Kong investors after the addition of 15.6 million shares.

“There is plenty of demand for capital [in aircraft leasing], and we are delighted to lead Asian lessors to be able to raise that capital here in Asia rather than having to go to the New York Stock Exchange, which is what international competitors have done,” Robert Martin, managing director and chief executive of BOC Aviation, said.
BOC Aviation Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Robert Martin (Left) and Bank of China Chairman Tian Guoli attend BOC Aviation listing ceremony at HKEX. Photo: Dickson Lee

He said the capital expenditure in the leasing aviation industry is expected to grow to US$120 billion in the next five years, from US$90 billion in 2015.

Headquartered in Singapore, BOC Aviation has a portfolio of 270 owned and managed aircraft leased to 62 airlines in 30 countries.

Martin said the company is now “actively bidding” to add Airbus’s more fuel-efficient widebody plane A350 to its managed fleet through lease-back deals with airlines.

Sovereign wealth funds China’s Silk Road Fund and China Investment Corporation, Oman Investment Fund, and Singapore’s Temasek’s Fullerton Fund were among the cornerstone investors. Together they received 108 million of BOC Aviation’s shares worth HK$4.52 billion. China Development Bank. China Life, Hony Capital, Elion, Fosun, Boeing, and China South Industries Assets Management are the other cornerstone investors.

Photo: Reuters

The listing price was 1.25 times BOC Aviation’s 2015 price-to-book ratio. The company made a profit of US$343 million last year, up 11 per cent from 2014.

China Development Bank filed an application to list its financial leasing unit in Hong Kong in February.

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