Vietnam's VietJet to sign aircraft finance deal, boost cooperation with Boeing, document says

Vietnamese budget airline VietJet is set to sign a $200m aircraft finance deal with a partner of investment fund KKR at a meeting in Washington next week attended by planemaker Boeing, according to an internal schedule seen by Reuters. The programme, signed by VietJet head and dated March 31, was sent in a letter to the Vietnamese government. The Southeast Asian nation is scrambling to avoid crippling U.S. tariffs announced by the Trump administration on Wednesday to reduce Vietnam's large trade surplus with Washington. VietJet executives would sign the financial agreement with AV Air Finance Company, a partner of KKR, at the Vietnamese embassy in Washington on April 9 with the participation of Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc, according to the schedule. The financing deal is to support the purchase of aircraft, according to the document. At the same event VietJet executives will meet Boeing representatives to discuss cooperation and "affirm commitment to expanding strategic relations," the document said. It is not clear whether the financing deal, if confirmed, is meant to support a possible new order, or whether it would allow the airline to place a deposit for existing purchasing deals. VietJet has agreed to buy 200 Boeing 737 MAX jets in a deal first signed in 2016 and revised afterwards, but no jet has yet been delivered. VietJet is also considering ordering 20 Boeing 787 jets, according to a person with direct knowledge of the discussions.<br/>