HANOI -- Vietnam Airlines (VNA), a national leading air carrier, has signed with Cathay United Bank (CUB) of China's Taiwan a financing deal of 60 million U.S. dollars for the purchase of a new aircraft, VNA announced Tuesday.

VNA told local Vietnam News that the Taipei-based bank was working with four other Taiwanese banks to arrange the loan for the purchase of a new Airbus A321 from French manufacturer Airbus, and the aircraft is expected to be delivered this month.

According to VNA President and CEO Pham Ngoc Minh, his carrier has signed with Airbus a contract for the delivery of 26 units of A321 aircraft from 2011 to 2015, which would support VNA in expanding its fleet.

Vietnam Airlines is the only airline in the Southeast Asian region to join the global airlines alliance SkyTeam.