China Aircraft Leasing Group ("CALC"), the largest independent aircraft operating lessor in China, launched and priced its first U.S. dollar bond in an aggregate principal amount of US$300 million due 2019. 

It is CALC's largest debt raising exercise to date. The estimated net proceeds of the proposed bonds Issue will amount to approximately USD 296.5 million. CALC intends to use the net proceeds for pre-delivery payment (PDP) financing and new aircraft acquisitions, financing the aircraft disassembly centre, business expansion in aircraft and related business as well as general corporate purposes.

Asian leasing companies are boosting fleets as the region is set to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest market for aircraft in two decades. A Bloomberg report said that Asia’s biggest aircraft-leasing company BOC Aviation began gauging demand for a Hong Kong initial public offering, raising as much as USD 1.5 billion.