Amid broader turbulence in the aviation sector, Asian public sector institutions rolled out hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of support to airlines in the region last week. In one deal, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) inked a ¥25.3bn (approximately US$232mn) guarantee agreement covering four private financial institutions for the principal and interest of their loans to Japan Airlines (JAL). In doing so, the Japanese export credit agency (ECA) is helping JAL obtain financing from Mizuho, MUFG, SMBC and Chiba Bank for the import of two aircraft from Airbus in France. “It will contribute to maintaining and improving the international competitiveness of the Japanese aviation industry,” JBIC says in a statement.