For more than a decade, Waha Leasing has been the UAE’s leading big-ticket leasing company, operating in the areas of aircraft, shipping and infrastructure. The company offers products such as operating and finance leases, structured financing, sale and leasebacks of new and used assets, and technical services.
Today, Waha Leasing owns, manages and/or has a financing interest in a $4.3 billion portfolio of more than 100 commercial aircraft operating on four continents. Clients include Etihad Airways, Emirates Airlines, Aeroflot, Qatar Airways, Air Canada and Malaysia Airlines, while its asset focus is now on young next generation single aisle and selected twin-aisle commercial aircraft. Waha’s interests include a 50% stake in AerVenture Ltd., which is focused on new Airbus A320 aircraft with an investment in 55 aircraft already on lease and/or on order.
The company has also invested in fixed and portable cooling plants and has had investments in large dry-cargo ships. In addition, Waha Leasing works alongside its sister company Waha Maritime in the leasing and financing of large maritime assets such as offshore supply vessels, bulk carriers and container ships.
As a global leasing company based in Abu Dhabi, Waha Leasing is set to benefit from the solid
long-term growth that is forecast in the Middle East and global airline industry. IATA’s 2008-2012 consensus forecasts annual growth of 7.2% in passenger and 5.2% in cargo for the Middle East – the highest of any region globally – whilst global air travel is expected to grow at more than 5% CAGR.
Mubadala, the development and investment Company for the economic diversification of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, is striving to establish Abu Dhabi as a thriving international aerospace hub, with a focus on knowledge-transfer and technology and innovation. The initiative is a key element of the 2030 Abu Dhabi Economic Vision, bringing together existing aerospace assets and forming industrial partnerships with companies such as Boeing, GE, EADS, and Airbus to build a high technology knowledge intensive aerospace industry for Abu Dhabi. Also, development work is underway on a new passenger terminal complex in Abu Dhabi that will be capable of handling an additional 20 million passengers a year initially and, as the city develops as a major transport hub, up to 50 million passengers a year.
Waha Leasing is well positioned to capitalize on the opportunities in the UAE, Middle East and globally.