The Commercial Aviation arm of Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) and SF Airlines Co., Ltd. (SF Airlines), are to combine resources under the umbrella of a joint venture company (JVCo) in Ezhou, Hubei, China.
The JVCo will operate a greenfield airframe Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) facility at Ezhou Huahu Airport to provide airframe MRO services to cargo and passenger airlines operating in the Asia region, including SF Airlines.
The JVCo was set up with a registered capital of approximately S$19 million (£11.4 million). ST Engineering will hold a 60% stake in the JVCo, with the remaining 40% stake held by SF Airlines. It is anticipated the newly built hangar will be operational by 2025.
Jeffrey Lam, President of Commercial Aerospace at ST Engineering, said, “China will be a strong growth driver for Asia’s commercial aerospace sector over the next decade. A presence in Hubei, China, will enhance our MRO network in Asia to better meet and capture the rising regional demand, while our strategic collaboration with an airline partner will enable us to start up a greenfield operation quickly.”
It is not anticipated that the setup of the JVCo will have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of ST Engineering for the current financial year.
ST Engineering is a Singapore-based multinational technology and engineering group in the aerospace, smart city as well as defence and public security sectors. SF Airlines is a Chinese cargo airline owned by SF Express (Group) Co. The company is headquartered in the No.1 Freight Depot of the International Shipping Center of Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport in Bao’an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong province.