Thu, Oct 18, 2007
KAI To Have Majority Stake In Partnership
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Eurocopter firmed up a
prior industrial cooperation agreement this week at the Seoul Air
Show, through the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
on Thursday.
The signing ceremony was graced by the presence of the CEOs from
both entities, Mr. Chung Hae Joo of KAI and Dr. Lutz Bertling from
Eurocopter. The objective of the MOU is to create a Joint Venture
(JV) Company for the worldwide promotion of the Korean Utility
Helicopter (KUH), an 8 metric-ton class military/utility transport
helicopter.
The JV will be in operation by 2010. With a shareholding
structure of 51% for KAI and 49 % ownership for Eurocopter, the
newly-established company will be responsible for the sale and
marketing of the KUH on the export market, which is estimated to
reach an order of 300 helicopters.
This signature strengthens the 2006 launch of the KUH program in
Korea. Eurocopter notes the JV contract is the largest ever signed
with a European company.
The Republic of Korea has a plan to buy from KAI, which is prime
contractor for this program, around 250 KUH. Eurocopter is slated
to provide technical assistance for the development of the
helicopter as well as certain sub-assemblies. About 40 Eurocopter
engineers are housed at Sacheon to render their ultimate technical
assistance to KAI.
The Korean Helicopter Program (KHP) is to develop a military
utility/transport helicopter (KUH, Korean Utility Helicopter) in
the eight-metric-ton class. The KUH is to replace Bell UH-1Hs and
McDonnell Douglas 500MDs in the South Korean Army fleet. First
deployment is scheduled in 2012.
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