Kuwait-based Aviation Lease and Finance Company (ALAFCO) said on Sunday it has leased a new $100-million Boeing 777 it bought recently to Malaysian Airlines for a period of nine years.
ALAFCO Chairman and Managing Director Ahmad al-Zaben said in a statement that the company is currently in negotiations to purchase two additional planes to get its fleet to 12 jets by the end of its fiscal year in September.
The latest deal, which lasts until 2013, will allow his firm to capitalise on the big improvement in the aviation market in Asia, Zaben added.
"The leased plane is the sixth in this market," he said, adding that ALAFCO has previously leased two planes to Air India and three planes to two Chinese airlines.
ALAFCO's fleet is now comprised of 10 planes, the statement said. Last year it said it bought two Boeing aircraft from an international leasing company for $76 million and it already has five Airbus aircraft.
ALAFCO has last year said it has ordered four Airbus A320-200 aircraft worth $200 million to be delivered by 2004.
Zaben said the company, which leases planes to national and commercial carriers, has recently raised its capital to $100 million. Last year, the company had a profit of 2.6 million Kuwaiti dinars ($8.8 million).
ALAFCO operates under Islamic sharia rules, which ban the charging or the payment of interest. Kuwait Finance House, the country's only Islamic bank, holds an 89 percent stake in ALAFCO while national carrier Kuwait Airways owns the rest.
Shares in Kuwait Finance House fell 20 fils to 1.420 dinar on Sunday, compared with year highs and lows at 1.720 dinar and 1.200 dinar, respectively. There are 1,000 fils per dinar.