The White House announced on Monday that Vietnam Airlines has agreed to purchase 50 737 Max jets from U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing, in a deal valued at $7.8 billion.
This confirms the deal’s worth as previously reported by Reuters, which had also indicated Boeing’s intention to sell the planes to Vietnam Airlines. Neither Boeing nor Vietnam Airlines commented immediately on the matter.
In 2022, Vietnam emerged as the fifth fastest-growing aviation market globally after lifting its COVID-19 travel bans.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) anticipates Vietnam will cater to 150 million air passengers by 2035.
Boeing has also secured an agreement to sell 200 of its 737 MAX aircraft to VietJet, a competitor of Vietnam Airlines.
As U.S. President Joe Biden visits Hanoi, various business collaborations are being established.
During his visit, other notable partnerships were revealed, including Microsoft’s intention to develop a generative AI solution specifically for Vietnam and other emerging markets.
Additionally, Nvidia is set to collaborate with Vietnamese companies FPT, Viettel, and Vingroup (VinFast’s parent company) on AI ventures within the nation.
Biden affirmed that his country’s relations with Vietnam had “entered a new stage”.
The American leader said the two nations were deepening cooperation on cloud computing, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence (AI).
