Aircraft lesser SMBC Aviation Capital closed a $1 billion loan facility with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

The facility has a 10-year term and will be used to finance a proportion of SMBC Aviation Capital’s order book with Airbus and Boeing in the coming years.

JBIC is a policy-based financial institution owned by the Japanese government which promotes the overseas development of strategically important Japanese owned enterprises.

Barry Flannery, chief financial officer of SMBC Aviation Capital, commented, “This transaction further expands our relationship with JBIC. This is a strong endorsement of SMBC Aviation Capital’s strategy and the continued success of our partnership with the SMBC Group and Sumitomo Corporation. Our shareholders bring significant financial support and product strength to our business. We in turn, have delivered strong and stable profitability in addition to expanding their financing activities in the global aviation space, so that we have true strategic alignment.”

Commenting on the transaction, JBIC said this loan was for “supporting overseas business expansion of the Japanese aircraft leasing industry”, and the company expressed in its press release that “as Japan’s policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to provide financial support for the overseas business development of Japanese companies.”

SMBC Aviation Capital previously reported an increase in profit before tax of $200m for the half year ended September 30, 2019, which was a 19% increase on the comparative period last year.

Based in the IFSC in Dublin 1, SMBC Aviation Capital is an aircraft leasing company with 83 airline customers in 37 countries.