BOC Aviation Ltd., a subsidiary of Bank of China Ltd. (BOC), has attracted 11 cornerstone investors for its US$1.1 billion Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), tapping Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. (CIC) and Boeing Co. as it launched yesterday the largest listing by an aircraft lessor in at least five years.

    CIC and the Silk Road Fund agreed to each invest US$100 million and CDB International committed US$60 million.

    Singapore-based BOC Aviation, Asia’s biggest aircraft lessor, is betting on booming demand for air transportation in the world’s second-largest economy. The lessor — the world’s fifth-largest by fleet size and fourth-largest by fleet value, according to its IPO prospectus — is selling shares to raise funds for more new aircraft.

    U.S. planemaker Boeing forecasts Chinese demand of 6,330 new airplanes over the next 20 years with a total value at nearly US$1 trillion, making China one of the biggest markets for the aircraft manufacturing industry.

    BOC, China’s fourth-biggest lender by assets, is selling new shares in BOC Aviation at a fixed price of HK$42 (US$5.41) each. It said last week the IPO would value its aviation leasing unit at about US$3.8 billion..

    The offering would be the biggest for an aircraft lessor since Air Lease Corp. raised US$801 million in a 2011 IPO.

    China Life Insurance Co. and Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital have each committed US$50 million, while Boeing, the world’s largest planemaker, has agreed to invest US$30 million.

    “China is an important and growing market for our business,” said Boeing spokesman Chris Villiers in Seattle, confirming the investment in BOC Aviation. (SD-Agencies)