TAAG Angola Airlines Purchases Boeing 777-300ER Aircraft Backed by Ex-Im Bank

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

The national flag carrier of Angola, TAAG Angola Airlines (Linhas Aereas de Angola) is purchasing Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with GE90 engines assisted by an approximately $256 million long-term loan guarantee from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). The aircraft will be used to expand TAAG's intercontinental service provided through its all-Boeing fleet.

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The guaranteed lender is the Private Export Funding Corporation (PEFCO) in New York, N.Y. HSBC Bank PLC in London, U.K., is the arranger.

A ceremonial signing took place today at Ex-Im Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C. Participants were Ex-Im Bank Chairman Fred P. Hochberg, TAAG Angola Airlines Chairman Dr. Pimentel Araujo and PEFCO Senior Vice President Richard Youtz. Also signing were Matinho Codo, charge d'Affaires of the Republic of Angola to the United States; Miguel Santos, director of International Sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes; and Richard Hodder, director, Sub-Saharan Africa, Project and Export Finance, HSBC.

"Ex-Im Bank is pleased to add this transaction to our support for Boeing sales to TAAG Angola Airlines. Our loan guarantees have helped the airline to access affordable financing and build its fleet in order to provide expanded air service for Angola. The U.S. aerospace exports financed by this transaction also will support jobs at Boeing and its hundreds of suppliers across the United States," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman Fred P. Hochberg.

"This transaction also adds to Ex-Im Bank's significantly increased support for U.S. exports to sub-Saharan Africa in fiscal year 2011, which has more than doubled over the previous record set last year," Hochberg added.

"Ex-Im Bank's financing support of our acquisition of 777-300ER aircraft is critical to TAAG's success in achieving a strongly competitive position in the Africa-to-Europe marketplace," said Dr. Pimentel Araujo, chairman of TAAG Angola Airlines.

The transaction is structured as an asset-backed finance lease in which Ex-Im Bank retains a first-priority security interest in the financed aircraft. Ex-Im Bank's guarantee is supported by a sovereign guarantee from the Angolan government.

Ex-Im Bank previously provided approximately $338.5 million in loan guarantees in 2006 to assist TAAG Angola Airlines in its purchase of B737-700 and B777-200ER aircraft.

TAAG Angola Airlines was founded in 1938 and is based in Luanda, Angola's capital. The state-owned airline has operated flights both domestically and internationally and primarily serves the major cities of Angola and cities in Europe and South America.

About Ex-Im Bank:

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance, and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

In the first seven months of fiscal year 2011, Ex-Im Bank approved $14.8 billion in total financing authorizations, supporting $17.8 billion in U.S. export sales. These sales will support more than 129,000 American jobs in communities across the country. This seven-month authorizations figure is the highest in the Bank's history.

The TAAG Angola Airlines transaction brings the total of Ex-Im Bank's authorizations supporting U.S. exports to sub-Saharan Africa in fiscal year 2011 to approximately $1.75 billion - more than double the previous record of $812 million set in fiscal year 2010.

For more information, visit Ex-Im Bank's Web site at http://www.exim.gov.