Vietnam Airlines, Citigroup ink deal

Vietnam Airlines, Citigroup ink deal

HANOI: Vietnam Airlines and Citigroup signed Tuesday a financing agreement for the purchase of a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, in the first deal to be guaranteed in Vietnam by the U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank.

The aircraft is the first of four Boeing jets the state-owned flag carrier has commissioned in line with its fleet expansion plans.

In October 2002, Ex-Im Bank, the official U.S. export credit agency gave a preliminary commitment to guarantee the purchase of the four aircraft, which are worth nearly US$700 million.

The board of Ex-Im Bank signed off on the first plane on Thursday. It is scheduled for delivery next month.

"We hope this will be the first of many Ex-Im Bank supported purchase of U.S. goods and services by Vietnamese companies and government agencies," Raymond Burghardt, the U.S. ambassador to the communist nation, told reporters. -- AFP