Sharjah, UAE; Air Arabia, announced it signed a US$ 350 million finance deal from a syndicate of two GCC banks to support the acquisition of 10 new Airbus A320 aircraft.

Air Arabia signed the deal with senior representatives of Qatar National Bank S.A.Q. (QNB Group), and Commercial Bank International (CBI), a UAE commercial bank.

Mohammad Sultan Al Qadi represented Commercial Bank International (CBI) as chairman of the UAE bank,  Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani represented  Air Arabia as chairman of the airline and  Abdulla, and Mubarak Al-Khalifa represented Qatar National Bank (QNB Group) as general manager, group corporate and institution banking of the Qatari Bank

The financing facility is to support the purchase of 10 new aircraft, which is part of a larger order for 44 Airbus A320s placed with Airbus in 2007.

Established in 1964 as the country's first Qatari-owned commercial bank, Qatar National Bank (QNB) has an ownership structure split between the Qatar Investment Authority (50%) and the private sector (50%).

QNB Group has steadily grown to be among the largest banks in the Middle East and North Africa Region with $91 billion of assets.The bank is the leading financial institution in the country with a market share approaching 45% of banking sector assets.

Commercial Bank International (CBI), was established in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in 1991. CBI today has 19 full-fledged branches across the UAE, and two subsidiary companies - Takamul Real Estate (TRE) and International Financial Brokerage (IFB).