VietJet Air wins $400 mln credit line to buy Airbus planes

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(Reuters) – Budget airline VietJet Air has got a credit line worth $400 million until 2020 from Vietnamese lender TPBank, the bank said on Thursday, in a bid to help the unlisted carrier buy Airbus planes under a $9 billion order placed in 2013.

Under an agreement signed on Thursday, TPBank will arrange the credit between now and 2020 for the airline, Vietnam’s first privately owned carrier, the Hanoi-based bank said in a statement without giving further details.

A VietJet Air official confirmed the bank’s statement.

VietJet Air has committed to buying 92 planes worth $9 billion from Airbus by 2024, according to a deal signed in 2013.

In September 2014, TPBank granted $21 million in credit to help VietJet Air make a downpayment for the Airbus order, the bank, which is not listed, said.

VietJet Air operates a fleet of 20 Airbus planes, including two new Airbus A-320s delivered last year under the Airbus order, the airline said.

The airline’s network spans 28 domestic and international routes a day.

SOURCE REUTERS