Lithuanian aviation holding company AviaAM Leasing announced on Tuesday it has signed an agreement with China's Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Company (HNCA) to build an aircraft leasing joint venture and manage an aircraft fleet worth up to 900 million U.S. dollars. 

The HNCA will provide access to favourable financing terms required for the joint venture's fleet development, AviaAM Leasing said in a statement. AviaAM Leasing will hold 51 percent stock of the Lithuanian-Chinese joint venture. 

The company claims that the fleet of AviaAM Leasing and HNCA joint venture will include both newly built and mid-life (second lease period) Boeing 737 NG and Airbus A320ceo airplanes. 

"With the combined industry expertise of AviaAM Leasing and HNCA's connections in the regional market, we are confident that the joint venture will deliver strong results for both our companies and the airline industry as whole," Tomas Goberis, AviaAM Leasing CEO, was quoted as saying by an AviaAM statement. 

"At the moment China, together with other thriving Asian economies, is the main driver behind the global aviation industry," said Goberis. 

"With double-digit air traffic growth, local carriers will require thousands of new airplanes over the following 15 to 20 years," Goberis added.  

Currently, there are over 20,000 commercial aircrafts flying around the world with over 40 percent of them operated under leasing, AviaAM said in the statement. 

AviaAM Leasing is a Warsaw Stock Exchange listed global aviation holding company with its headquarters based in Vilnius and two representative offices in Russia and Cyprus. The company is engaged in commercial aircraft acquisition, leasing and sales. 

The company specializes in mainline narrow-body and regional jet aircrafts with services primarily targeted towards Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States countries, Middle East and Asia-Pacific, AviaAM Leasing states on its website.