Bahrain-based wholesale Islamic Investment bank Ibdar Bank has announced the successful exit along with its investors through the sale of five Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft for an undisclosed amount.

The aircraft were leased to Ethiopian Airlines and RwandAir, a bank statement said.

The award-winning Ethiopian Airlines’ transaction involved 12-year Shari’ah compliant operating leases of brand new aircraft, marking the first Shari’ah-compliant transactions in Africa’s aviation sector.

Commenting on the successful transactions, acting CEO of Ibdar Bank Ahmed Al Rayes said: “We are very pleased to announce the successful closing of these deals which further underscores the bank’s growing capability in the aviation sector. As part of Ibdar’s strategy, the bank is working on bringing to market new transactions in the sector and other private equity segments. Ibdar has gained extensive experience in the field and is uniquely situated to better serve its clients in providing them with income generating assets”.

Mohammed Kettani, executive director and head of the bank’s private equity division, added: “The role of private equity in the aviation sector has become more prominent as a result of airlines continuing to grow passenger traffic globally and the increased use of operating leases as a means to finance fleet acquisitions. As such the bank has identified the opportunity gap and developed an aviation platform to maximize on these lucrative opportunities. To date, the bank has completed $196 million in aviation transactions. The bank is working on launching soon new private equity transactions.”
In addition to its significant expertise in aviation investment, the bank is building an impressive track record in infrastructure, maritime, oil and gas, and real estate among others, the statement added.  – TradeArabia News Service