Boeing sees Strong Asia Pacific Market with Ample Investor Opportunities

Boeing forecasts place the Asia Pacific region, especially China, at the forefront of aviation industry growth over the next two decades. In the near term, the current turbulent global economic conditions are presenting opportunities for the region’s banks and investors interested in  financing commercial airplanes in Asia and the rest of the world.

“Asia Pacific is the largest market for our new airplanes in terms of the numbers required and their market value. The market, including China, is projected to grow at 7% a year. In fact, in less than 10 years, the vast region will easily be the world’s largest market for air travel,” said Randy Tinseth, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president - Marketing in Hong Kong this week.

“That translates into a need for 9,160 new airplanes worth US$1.2 trillion in the Asia Pacific region. That is three times the size of today’s fleet in the region, and more than one-third of the value of the entire world fleet in 20 years,” Tinseth added.

The Asia Pacific region’s financial markets are increasingly being seen as a source for aircraft financing, especially as financiers in other parts of the world are struggling.

“The current economic turmoil has put a lot of pressure on traditional sources like the European banks and the U.S. capital markets. We are fortunate that the Asia Pacific region has been out of the storm of the U.S. and Europe crisis,” said Kostya Zolotusky, managing director of capital markets development for Boeing Capital Corp., the manufacturer’s financing unit. Boeing Capital held its annual regional financiers event in Hong Kong on 5 November, attracting a record number of participants.

Zolotusky said regional financiers continue to be a reliable source of financing for the Asia Pacific airlines while financiers elsewhere have fallen short. “In China, where we have more than US$4.5 billion in deliveries in 2009, local banks have been financing customer deliveries and expect to continue to do so. That is also the case in Japan, Australia, Taiwan and elsewhere,” Zolotusky said.

Boeing and its airlines customers are hoping that the region’s financiers will move beyond their borders to find similar investment opportunities elsewhere fueled by attractive nature of airplanes as mobile assets in high demand.

See other recent news regarding: Travel News Asia, Promotions, New Hotels, Boeing, Hong Kong