Emirates airline repays $1b bond

Emirates airline announced Thursday that it has repaid a bullet bond [Bullet bond is a debt instrument whose entire face value is paid at once on the maturity date] in full for the value of $1b on its maturity date of June 8. The bond was raised in 2011 to address Emirates’ working capital requirements. Emirates will also be repaying a bond totaling S$150m later this month that was raised in 2006. The airline is repaying both bonds from its own cash resources. By the end of 2016, Emirates will have repaid six bonds and sukuks in full over the course of the last five years, totaling $2.84b. “The repayment of these bonds illustrates Emirates’ continued ability to access international funding and garner support from financial markets and institution. Our strong business model and long-term financing strategy will position Emirates to unlock further growth with the delivery of 36 aircraft this financial year,” said CE Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum.<br/>