A framework agreement for establishing a leasing company in order to support sales of Sukhoi SuperJet 100 (SSJ 100) in China and Southeast Asia was signed in Moscow.

Russian-Chinese Investment Fund (RCIF), Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC, part of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC)), government of Shanxi province (China) and New Century International Leasing (NCILС, CHINA) signed the agreement. The agreement was signed with the support of Russian-Chinese intergovernmental commission.

Under the agreement, over the next three years the lessor should purchase about 100 aircraft of the type (twice as much as the number of SSJ 100 liners already delivered to customers) worth around $3 billion.

«The new lessor will be headquartered in Russian-Chinese tech park in Xixian city, Shanxi province, the capital of China’s aviation cluster. The city administration will assist the parties in obtaining land grants required to construct all the necessary infrastructure for acceptance and maintenance of SSJ 100 aircraft,» UAC added.

«The signed agreement is one of the solutions to the problem of reconsideration of approach to promotion of SSJ 100 airliners at the global market. The agreement was reached within a short time, and we thank our Chinese partners for that, – UAC President Yuri Slusar said. – Agreement for establishing Russian-Chinese leasing company is a truly landmark one in terms of its scale and the possibilities opened up by the document for Russian civil aircraft industry. Together with our Chinese colleagues we will elaborate a highly-competitive offer in order to help SSJ 100 occupy a significant share at the fast-growing markets of China and Southeast Asia».

Five factors formed the basis of the SCAC’s new approach to promotion of SSJ 100 in China and Southeast Asia: better economic efficiency compared to the jet’s rivals, establishment of a large MRO center with a spare parts storage and personnel training center located in Xixian, possibility of installing customized interior and painting the aircraft on site.

UAC also noted “today production capacities of UAC enterprises allow producing up to 60 SSJ 100 jets per year. The key advantage of SSJ 100 is lower cost per seat compared to its rivals in the 100-seat segment. SSJ 100 allows optimizing operating costs of the carriers due to better fuel efficiency and lower takeoff weight. Among other advantages of SSJ 100 are high comfort and competitive lease rates, assured by the residual value guarantee».