SEATTLE – Boeing revealed Monday that Chinese aircraft lessor CDB Aviation Lease Finance has placed an order for 30 of its new single-aisle 737 MAX 8 jets.
The order was booked earlier and was previously listed on Boeing’s orders website as coming from an unidentified customer.
The order is worth $3.3 billion at current list prices, but based on market valuation data from aircraft valuation firm Avitas, the real value after standard industry discounts is about $1.5 billion.
The state-controlled China Development Bank holds a majority stake in CDB. Multiple Chinese lessors have entered aircraft financing in recent years as a means of investing in Western assets and tapping into China’s growing aviation market.
Like many of these Chinese lessors, CDB is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, which has laws and a tax system favorable to the aircraft leasing business.
