Qatar Airways Group has signed its first Japanese Operating Lease with Call Option (JOLCO) financing transaction, covering three Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The agreement, completed in Doha, is the first of three planned transactions under a Japanese financing programme covering seven aircraft. HSBC is the debt arranger and sole lender, while JP Lease Products & Services (JLPS) arranged and underwrote the equity component.
The transaction brings Qatar Airways Group into Japan’s aircraft-financing market and expands its financing relationships in Asia. Under the JOLCO structure, debt financing is combined with equity participation from Japanese investors, while the airline retains a purchase option at the end of the lease term.
JLPS will act as equity arranger for the wider programme. Qatar Airways intends to use the Japanese JOLCO market as a long-term funding source for future fleet investment and growth, diversifying its capital sources and broadening its investor base.
The airline has not disclosed the transaction value, lease duration or purchase-option conditions. Details of the aircraft covered by the two remaining transactions, including their models and delivery or operational schedules, have also not been released. The agreement concerns aircraft financing rather than a new order, delivery announcement, route launch or change in fleet deployment.