Malaysia 8th State to ratify the Cape Town Convention

The International Air Transport Association welcomed Malaysia’s leadership in becoming the 8th state to ratify the Cape Town Convention and its Aircraft Protocol.

This ratification will bring the Treaty into effect from 1 March 2006.

“I applaud Malaysia’s leadership in ratifying this important convention, which creates an international legal framework that will help attract finance to the aviation industry. This will play a key role in helping airlines acquire modern aircraft using the most advanced financing and leasing tools. It really is a win-win situation. This could save the airlines billions in financing costs. And the modern aircraft that will be acquired will be more fuel efficient—helping the environment while reducing operating costs. For an industry that has lost US$42 billion in the last five years, today’s signing is an important step forward,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

IATA worked closely with the Aviation Working Group to help Malaysia in the process of acceding to the Treaty’s instruments.

“An efficient air transport industry has widespread economic benefits. Globally air transport is a US$400 billion industry supporting US$3 trillion in economic output. It is important for governments to recognise, as has the Government of Malaysia, that this global industry needs international consistency for finance and leasing. I urge all states to quickly follow Malaysia’s lead. IATA will continue to cooperate closely with the AWG to help facilitate early and widespread global adoption,” said Bisignani.

The Aviation Working Group is co-chaired by Boeing and Airbus and comprises major aviation manufacturers, leasing companies and financial institutions.

The Cape Town Convention was concluded in November 2001 in discussions involving 68 states and 14 international organisations following 14 years of work. It is an umbrella treaty covering all aspects of mobile instruments with separate protocols.

United States the fifth country to ratify as reported by Ex-Im Bank

The United States government has formally completed the process to ratify the Cape Town Convention, an international treaty that will facilitate asset-based financing and leasing of large commercial aircraft and aircraft engines. U.S. Ambassador Tony Hall deposited the instrument of ratification for the treaty and the accompanying Protocol on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment with UNIDROIT, the international organization based in Rome, Italy, that is the depositary of the Cape Town Convention and aircraft protocol. The United States is the fifth country to ratify the treaty and the aircraft protocol.

The United States signed the Cape Town Convention in May 2003. The U.S. Senate approved the treaty on July 22, 2004, and President George W. Bush signed the implementing legislation on August 9, 2004. With the deposit of the instrument of ratification on October 28, 2004, the process of ratifying the Cape Town Convention and the related aircraft protocol by the United States now has been duly completed.

Ex-Im Bank, the official export credit agency of the United States, is in its 70th year of helping finance the sale of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, by providing loan guarantees, export credit insurance and direct loans. In the past five years, Ex-Im Bank has authorized financing to support the export of more than $22 billion of U.S. large commercial aircraft. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.