ST ENGINEERING on Wednesday announced that its aviation asset-management unit has signed a letter of intent to lease up to five Airbus A321 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) aircraft to Global Crossing Airlines (GlobalX).

Subject to the signing of definitive agreements, ST Engineering will acquire these five aircraft either on its own or through its joint-venture companies, and finance these aircraft through a mix of equity and non-recourse debt, said GlobalX and ST Engineering in a joint statement.

ST Engineering's executive vice-president and head of aviation asset management, Yip Hin Meng, said: "We are delighted to be able to support GlobalX as it makes its foray into the growing air-freight market with our end-to-end aviation asset-management solutions.

"When working with ST Engineering, GlobalX can be assured of best-in-class solutions for these A321 P2F aircraft's entry into service and maintenance, all from a single-life-cycle solution provider."

The aircraft will be converted and maintained at ST Engineering's global facilities. The first one will be converted in April 2022 and placed on lease in the fourth quarter that year; the remaining four will be converted and leased to GlobalX progressively.

As part of its end-to-end aviation asset-management solutions, ST Engineering will also provide maintenance services to these aircraft for GlobalX over the period of the lease.

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Said Ed Wegel, chief executive of GlobalX: "We are extraordinarily pleased and honoured to be working with ST Engineering on our fleet of A321 P2F, which is a game changer in the air-freight industry.

"We look forward to working very closely with ST Engineering, a world-class solution provider in aircraft maintenance and freighter conversion, and subsequently in other ways as we grow GlobalX."

Shares in ST Engineering ended Wednesday at S$3.77, down 1.3 per cent or S$0.05.