Indigo signs $2.6 billion-worth deal with Chinese bank; to buy 30 new aircraft

Budget airline Indigo signed a deal worth $2.6 billion with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) who will now finance more than 30 new aircraft, the carrier said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to Reuters, the memorandum of understanding says that ICBC will provide IndiGo, with financing for the planes through either a sale and leaseback, financial lease or commercial lending deal, IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh said in the statement.

Indigo, which is India's largest airline by market share and is also profitable, will use the deal to add Airbus A320 planes to its fleet.

The announcement comes when the Chinese president Xi Jinping is visiting Gujarat for three days, and the prime minister Narendra Modi is expected to have discussions on trade and investment issues with him.