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Tag: African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)

  • Afrexim bank launches $3b revolving Intra-African oil import financing programme

    Afrexim bank launches $3b revolving Intra-African oil import financing programme

    African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has launched a $3 Billion Revolving Intra-African Oil Trade Financing Programme to finance the purchase of refined petroleum products by African and Caribbean oil buyers.

     As a revolving facility, we expect it to finance about $10 billion to $14 billion of Intra-African petroleum imports. This programme seeks to leverage the growing refining capacity that Afreximbank has helped establish across the continent, while aligning with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which includes facilitating intra-African trade, promoting industrialisation, and creating jobs on the continent.

    By deploying innovative trade finance and supply chain solutions tailored to key stakeholders’ needs in terms of tenure, price format and logistics requirements, this initiative supports Afreximbank’s strategic goals of advancing energy security, strengthening regional value chains, and fostering economic resilience within the continent and the Caribbean.

    Afreximbank is the largest financier of the Dangote refinery which commenced operations in January 2024 and is also supporting the financing of the 200,000 bpd Lobito Refinery development, building on the progress made on the 60,000 bpd Cabinda Refinery, which it also supported.

    In addition, the Bank has financed the refurbishment of the 210,000 bpd Port Harcourt Refinery, and recently approved financing in support of the development of Bua Refinery and Azikel Refinery, all in Nigeria.

    Through these investments, and the continual trade finance support for Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR), Cote d’Ivoire, Afreximbank is on its way to creating over 1.3 million bpd refining capacity and helping to convert the Gulf of Guinea from an exporter of crude oil into an important refining hub for the continent and the world.

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    Key products to be traded under the programme are refined petroleum products including but not limited to Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), Jet Fuel, and Kerosene. The eligible exporters are refineries operating in Africa.

    The $3 billion Revolving Intra-African Oil Import Financing Programme is intended to mainly provide critical trade finance to oil traders (both African and international), banks, and Governments – represented by their Ministry of Finance or Ministry of Petroleum Resources/Energy – and state-owned enterprises mandated to import refined petroleum products, who seek to source refined products from African Refineries for onward consumption within the continent and export opportunities as may be applicable. Afreximbank, affiliated trading entity ATDC Minerals (ATMIN) will also participate actively in the trading and financing activities of the leading African oil trading companies with long term relationship with Afreximbank who are also expected to support this effort. An approved applicant will be able to request utilization under the Global Limit within allocated sub-limits upon KYC clearance and satisfactory completion of conditions precedent as follows: Issuance/Confirmation of Letters of Credit or any acceptable trade instrument with refineries in Africa as beneficiarie s

    Discounting of Letters of Credit or any acceptable trade instrument to the benefit of refineries in Africa

    Prepayment and direct advances to eligible refineries in Africa Commenting on the launch, Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank, said that the programme “would galvanise efforts towards making the Gulf of Guinea a key refining hub. Whilst the programme will have a direct impact on the volume of the refined petroleum products produced and consumed in Africa, it will also have a multiplier effect on the downstream petroleum value chain as it will catalyse critical investments in shipping and marine logistics for intra and extra African trade of crude oil and refined products. The multiplier effect will also be seen in marine cargo insurance and other ancillary businesses within the sector. We want to see an increased proportion of the about 4 mbpd of crude oil produced in the Gulf of Guinea refined in Africa.”

    Also commenting on the initiative, His Excellency Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi, said: “This programme is a clear demonstration of Africa’s resolve to take charge of its own energy future. We commend Afreximbank for this timely intervention, which stands to benefit African countries like Malawi by reducing import dependency, strengthening regional supply chains, and keeping more value within the continent. Most importantly, it will deliver real impact to our citizens by ensuring more stable and affordable access to refined petroleum products, which are essential to Malawians’ daily life and economic productivity.”

  • AfCFTA: Why Nigeria may not benefit from Afreximbank’s interventions

    The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has handed Nigeria the opportunity to grab a chunk of the $2.5 trillion in combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and other benefits promised by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement almost on a platter. This followed the roll out of various trade facilitation and financing instruments to boost manufacturers’ competitiveness. But, there are fears that without fixing her lack of internationally-accredited quality and trade-related infrastructure, manufacturers may fail to benefit from the interventions. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports

    If access to robust, result-driven trade facilitation and trade financing instruments were to be deciding factors for maximising the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, it is unlikely that any country will beat Nigeria to the number one spot on AfCFTA’s competitiveness ladder when its implementation begins in July, next year.

    The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has made available some of trade facilitation and financing instruments to strategically incentivise and position Nigerian manufacturers and other domestic economic actors to take advantage of the trade liberalisation deal.

    For instance, the bank recently made available $500 million from its Nigeria-Africa Trade and Investment Promotion Fund to support the manufacturers to take advantage of the numerous opportunities offered by the AFCFTA.

    Adopted by the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January 2012, AfCFTA seeks to create a continental trade bloc of 1.2 billion people, with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about $2.5 trillion.

    The agreement was seen as an important milestone in promoting Africa’s regional integration and helping to increase intra-African trade. It planned to do this by committing countries to liberalising services and trade and removing tariffs on 90 per cent of goods.

    Apart from its inherent capacity to promote economic growth and development, reduce poverty in the partnering countries, it was also expected to help expand and diversify trade and increase domestic and foreign investment.

    After foot-dragging for 16 months, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the trade treaty on  July 7, this year, at the opening of the 12th Extraordinary Summit of the AU Launch of the Operational Phase of the AfCFTA in Miami, Niger. As at August 21,  Afriacan countries except Eritrea had signed the deal.

    With the AfCFTA coming into force, Afreximbank, the premier institution driving African integration and trade, has moved in to position African manufacturers to maximise the benefits in the agreement, but with special focus on manufacturers and other players.

    In throwing the $500 million lifeline to  the manufacturers, the Afreximbank President/ Chairman of Board of Directors, Prof. Benedict Oramah, said the opportunity for Nigerian and African manufacturers under the AfCFTA was phenomenal.

    Oramah, who spoke at the 47th Annual General Meeting (AGM)/Manufacturers Annual Lecture/Presidential Luncheon of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) held in Lagos, noted that intra-regional trade in the manufacturing sector could rise to more than $150 billion by 2022.

    His words: “The AfCFTA has come into force. It is expected that it will by 2022 bring the share of intra-African trade to 22 percent, up from current levels of about 16 percent, and bring total intra-African trade to about $250 billion, from about $160 billion currently.

    “Since manufactures account for about 60 percent of total intra-African trade, intra-regional trade in manufactures can rise to more than $150 billion by 2022. The opportunity for African manufacturers is, therefore, phenomenal.”         

    In his presentation titled: “From commodities to a global manufacturing hub: The road ahead for Nigeria,” Oramah said this was timely and relevant because it demonstrated  MAN’s commitment to prepare its members for the opportunities that the AfCFTA presents to make Nigeria a global manufacturing hub, akin to what China.

    “MAN represents, perhaps, the largest collection of entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Just as most of the great European cities were built on entrepreneurial risk-taking, it is on the enterprise of the members of MAN that Nigeria’s future prosperity can be built. And it is trade that will expand the frontiers of that enterprise,” he said.

    Other initiatives to capacitate manufacturers

    Apart from making the $500 million facility available to Nigerian manufacturers to diversify exports and produce goods and services that will be traded competitively under the AfCFTA, the bank has also unveiled the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), a key instrument through which it intervenes in the form of equity or quasi equity.

    There is also the Export Contract Availability Guarantee, to enable Nigerian and other African export manufacturers to secure long-term export contracts with bank financing. The guarantee will cover the risk associated with situations where the contract against which financing has been provided becomes unavailable before an agreed period.

    Similarly, Afreximbank has put in place an Inter-State Transit Guarantee aimed at facilitating and easing the flow of goods and services across borders and also reduce transit time and costs. This guarantee, The Nation learnt, would be useful for exports to other African countries.

    Although the bank’s instruments and interventions were meant to support the structural transformation of Africa’s production and exports through higher value added and manufactured goods, her development of solutions tailored to the specific needs of Nigerian manufacturers can hardly go unnoticed.

    For instance, Afreximbank has since thrown its weight behind the country’s economic development and industrialisation objectives, especially under the “Made-in-Nigeria for Export”(Project MINE) intiative.

    Specifically, the bank has executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) to facilitate the establishment of Industrial Parks (IPs) and Export Processing Zones (EPZs) within the six geo-political zones under Project MINE.

    Under Project MINE, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will be used as the mechanism for making Nigeria a pre-eminent manufacturing hub in Sub-Saharan Africa and a major exporter of Made-in-Nigeria goods and services regionally and globally.

    The immediate past Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said the Federal Government planned to spend N250 billion for the development of the SEZs across the six geo-political zones of the country in pursuit of the country’s industrialisation agenda.

    According to him, Project MINE initiative was aimed at developing what he described as world-class export-oriented SEZs, pointing out that one of the factors leading to industrialisation was the development of SEZs.

    Under the MoU, which Afreximbank executed with the FMITI, the bank identified priority projects, such as the Lekki-Epe Model Industrial Park, located on 1,000 hectares of land in the Northwest of the Lekki Free Trade Zone.

    Clothing Textile and Garments (CTG) and agro-processing have been identified as the sector focus for this park. For Enyimba Economic City, located on 1, 600 hectares in Enyimba Economic City in Aba, Abia State, CTG, agro-processing and light manufacturing are the selected sectors of focus.

    Afreximbank is also supporting the development of an internationally-accredited centre for testing, inspection and certification of products, particularly agricultural and agro-processed products. This was to ensure compliance with international technical regulations.

    The bank has already established the African Quality Assurance Centre (AQAC) in Ogun State, believing that the development of adequate conformity assessment infrastructure would contribute to creating confidence for importers and ensure that exported products meet international standards to avoid rejection of shipments.

    Through its Continental Trade Fairs, the bank will hold biennial Intra-African Trade Fairs (IATF) that will connect Nigerian and African buyers and sellers, provide trade and market information and also facilitate B2B (Business-to-Business) exchanges.

    The maiden trade fair, which held in Cairo, Egypt, last December, attracted over 1000 exhibitors from 45 countries, with over $32 billion in deals generated. And the second edition is scheduled for September1-7, 2020, in Kigali, Rwanda.

    Fears over decrepit trade-carrying infrastructure

    As it is, Nigeria looks good to ride on the back of Afreximbank’s game-changing initiatives to call the shot in the emerging new trade order propelled by the AfCFTA.

    However, there are fears that this will not be a walk in the park for Africa’s most populous and largest market, majorly because of lack of internationally accredited quality and trade-related infrastructure.

    Trade-carrying infrastructure includes hard infrastructure, such as roads, rail, bridges, ports,  and soft infrastructure (one stop border posts, warehousing, cold chain storage, jetties, ferries, logistics platforms and ICT solutions, such as single windows and electronic cargo tracking systems.

    Admittedly, weak trade-related infrastructure is not peculiar to Nigeria. Africa’s infrastructure needs, according to Afreximbank, are estimated at between $130 and $170 billion yearly, with a financing gap in the range of $70–$110 billion.

    However, Nigeria’s share of the continent’s huge infrastructure gap is mind-boggling. For instance, the Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) put this in perspective when it said Nigeria requires $15 billion, about N4.59 trillion, worth of investments yearly for 15 years to adequately develop her infrastructure nationwide.

    The economic and financial research firm, in its bi-monthly Economic and Business report for February, last year, said: “Nigeria’s under-investment in infrastructure has left it with a core stock of infrastructure of just 20 per cent to 25 per cent of GDP, compared to an average of 70 per cent of the GDP for more advanced middle-income countries of similar size.”

    The FDC said bridging this gap would require investing about $15 billion yearly for the next 15 years, asking, “Given the government’s limited access to international debt, revenue constraints and competing priorities, the major question is where will funding be sourced?”

    The research firm emphasised: “One of the biggest constraints to Nigeria’s competitiveness, economic growth and diversification is the crippling infrastructure deficit, estimated at about $300 billion (about N30 trillion) by the African Development Bank (AfDB).”

    When considered that Nigeria, according to Vice-President YemiOsinbajo, spent N2.7 trillion on infrastructure in 2016 and 2017 fiscal years, for instance, the challenge infrastructure gap poses to Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade comes into bold relief.

    This was also why, despite significant nationwide support for Nigeria to go ahead with the AfCFTA, including the avalanche of bilateral trade partnerships and economic co-operation programmes dangled before her by foreign investors and governments, manufacturers were opposed to such deals.

    The dearth of supportive infrastructure, particularly power supply, has continued to push up cost of production, instilling fears of competitive disadvantage into the minds of Nigerian manufacturers, especially the especially the Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs), against their counterparts from other African countries.

    Poor quality infrastructure

    At present, Nigeria lacks adequate and functional laboratories to test and ensure that exportable agric products and other goods meet required international quality and standards.

    The Senior Manager, Intra-African Trade Initiative, Afreximbank, Gainmore Zanamwe, said lack of internationally-accredited quality infrastructure and harmonised trade standards are part of the supply side constraints to industrialisation in Nigeria and other African countries.

    The danger decrepit infrastructure poses to Nigeria’s continental and global trade power is not lost on manufacturers. At the MAN AGM, its President, Ahmed Mansur, said: “The state of our infrastructure has deeply eroded the manufacturing sector’s competitiveness.

    “The supply of electricity, access to our ports and their low operating efficiencies, the poor condition of most of our highways and waterways and the absence of a credible rail network constitute impediments to the operating efficiencies of our manufacturing establishment, inducing high costs of production and distribution and rendering our manufactured goods uncompetitive.”

  • South Africa now Afreximbank’s shareholder

    South Africa now Afreximbank’s shareholder

    South Africa has taken up shareholding in the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the African continental multilateral trade finance institution. The move is expected to promote intra-African trade and economic integration.

    With the shareholding, South Africa becomes the 47th African country to join Afreximbank as a participating state and/or shareholder. It is being represented by the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa (ECIC) as its designated investor in line with the terms of the provisions of the Charter of the Bank.

    President of the bank, Benedict Oramah, said: “It is a significant vote of confidence to have South Africa join Afreximbank as a shareholder. South Africa accounts for about 30 to 35 per cent of total intra-African trade, making its membership critical for the attainment of the Bank’s strategic goal of moving intra-African trade share of Africa’s total trade from about 15 per cent currently to 22 per cent by 2021 and raising its annual value to more than $250 billion by that year. We are confident that its membership of Afreximbank will enable it to play a significant role in driving trade across the continent.”

    The Chief Executive Officer of ECIC, Kutoane Kutoane, said: “We are humbled while also motivated by the trust and confidence that the South African government has placed on ECIC to assume the role of designated institution for membership of the Bank,” We are certain that South African exporters, especially our small and medium-sized exporters, will now have access to the expanded pool of structured trade finance facilities offered by the bank.”

    Kutoane said that ECIC intended to make the partnership mutually beneficial, adding, “this marks a watershed moment defining the era of more inclusive intra-continental trade facilitation on a grand scale”.

    South Africa was unable to join Afreximbank at the bank’s creation in 1993 as the country was still under apartheid rule at the time.

    Countries currently on the list of Afreximbank participating and shareholding states include Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, and Lesotho. Others are Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

    Afreximbank shareholders are a mix of public and private entities divided into four classes and consist of African governments, central banks, regional and sub-regional institutions, private investors and financial institutions, as well as non-African financial institutions, export credit agencies and private investors.

    Class “A” shareholders are African states, African central banks and African public institutions, including the African Development Bank, while Class “B” is made up of African financial institutions and African private investors.

    Class “C” shares are held by non-African investors, mostly international banks and export credit agencies, including Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, Citibank, China Exim Bank and Exim India. Class “D” shares, a tier approved in December 2012, are fully paid value shares that can be held by any investor. SBM Securities, Mauritius, is currently the only investor in this class on behalf of holders of its depository receipts which are listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius.

  • Afreximbank raises $150m syndicated term loan

    Afreximbank raises $150m syndicated term loan

    The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has successfully completed its first ever Samurai Syndicated Term Loan Facility, raising the equivalent of $150 million, comprised of two tranches of Japanese Yen (JPY) 6.2 billion and $100 million.

    Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG) acted as sole Coordinator, Bookrunner, Facility and Documentation Agent Bank for the facility while Bank of Taiwan, Gunma Bank, Shikoku Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking all joined the facility in the primary phase.

    The facility had initially been for the equivalent of $100 million, with the two tranches at JPY4 billion and $70 million, but had incorporated an accordion feature in order to accommodate further regional investors.

    The new totals followed the activation of the accordion feature which saw the participation rise to seven banks. Two new banks, Bank of Yokohama and Joyo Bank, acceded to the accordion while two banks, which participated in the initial stage, increased their participations.

    At the ceremonial signing held in Tokyo on November 2, were Afreximbank Executive Vice President for Finance, Administration and Banking Services, Denys Denya. He praised the high participation in the facility as a reflection of the willingness of those institutions to support the cause of development in Africa.

    He took the opportunity of the event to brief the Japanese lenders about Afreximbank’s performance in 2017 and the bank’s strategy as well as to update them on its 2017 general fundraising plans.

    Denya announced that the proceeds of the Facility would be used towards general corporate and trade related purposes. The all-pricing for the Facility is 1.8 per cent per annum for the dollar tranche and 0.80 per cent for the JPY tranche.

    Accompanying Denya to the signing ceremony from Afreximbank were Chandi Mwenebungu, Treasurer; Yomna Rashed, Manager, Treasury; and Enga Innocent Kameni, Manager, Legal Services. Eighteen banks attended the signing ceremony.

  • Afreximbank unveils Guarantee Programme for Africa

    Afreximbank unveils Guarantee Programme for Africa

    The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Wednesday launched a new guarantee programme meant to unlock capital and leverage much-needed financing into Africa.

    The Afreximbank Guarantee Programme (AFGAP), launched in Sal, Cape Verde, during the Advanced Structured Trade Finance Seminar and Workshops being organised by the bank, will help to de-risk African transactions in order to make them more attractive to investors and financiers.

    The programme, which offers a variety of credit enhancement solution to clients in Africa, is part of Exim-plus, a broad strategy developed by Afreximbank to position itself as a comprehensive trade facilitation and financing solution centre in Africa.

    Under Exim-plus, Afreximbank is offering a broad array of instruments that are often associated with export credit agencies and other specialized trade and development finance institutions, thereby differentiating itself from normal commercial banks and development financial institutions.

    Speaking during the launch ceremony, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President in charge of Business Development and Corporate Banking, Amr Kamel, said that AFGAP was a demonstration of Afreximbank’s unwavering commitment to delivering on its mandate of promoting intra- and extra-African trade, in particular, the mandate of using risk bearing instruments to promote trade in Africa, by introducing new risk mitigation solutions to address the trade finance needs of the continent.

    AFGAP would bring “additionality” to Africa, by mobilizing financing that would otherwise not have been possible, to support the economic development of the continent, he said.

    Kamel called for support for the programme from partners and other relevant stakeholders, saying that although Afreximbank had taken a giant step in launching the programme, it could not achieve the desired results alone. “We are, therefore, calling on partners interested in Africa’s development and all relevant parties to work with Afreximbank to support the promotion of trade and trade-related investments in Africa.”

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  • Afreximbank introduces $300m equity offering to Nigerian investors

    Afreximbank introduces $300m equity offering to Nigerian investors

    The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on Thursday in Lagos met with leading Nigerian investors to push for strong participation in the bank’s $300 million equity offering.

    Dr Benedict Oramah, the President of Afreximbank, told the investors that the equity offering would be issued through depository receipts backed by its Class “D” shares for new and old investors in the bank.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Class “D” shareholders can be any investor.

    Oramah said that the aim was to generate between $100 million and $300 million as part of the bank’s target to mobilise up to $1 billion to boost African trade over the next five years.

    He told investors that the issuance of the receipts was to enhance the bank’s capitalisation so as to significantly narrow the trade financing gap in Africa, currently estimated at $120 billion annually.

    He said that the receipts would be listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius and managed by SBM Asset Managers as lead arranger.

    According to him, the issuance also represents an opportunity for Afreximbank to diversify its shareholder base by enabling investors in Africa and beyond who have not yet invested in the bank to do so.

    He said that Afreximbank had consistently delivered development impact in its member countries including Nigeria where virtually every banking institution had benefited from its support.

    Kee Chong Li Kwong Wing, the Chairman of SBM Group, said that the decision to use Mauritius was due to the country’s highly developed financial services system and its experience in similar investment drives.

    Li said that as part of its support for the Afreximbank depository receipts issue, the government of Mauritius planned to grant permanent residency to investors putting in up to $500,000 into the offer.

    According to him, the minimum investment amount is $30,000.

    Those present at the event include Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo, former Gov. Donald Duke of Cross River; a representative of  Oba of Lagos and many others.

    Afreximbank’s shareholders are a four-tier mix of public and private entities with Class “A”, consisting of African states, African central banks and African public institutions.

    Class “B” is made up of African financial institutions and African private investors, Class “C” shareholders are non-African investors’ mostly international banks and export credit agencies.

    Afreximbank is a foremost pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade.

    The bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors as well as non-African investors.

    Its two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement which gives it the status of an international organisation, and the Charter which governs its corporate structure and operations.

    Since 1994, it has approved more than $51 billion in credit facilities for African businesses including about $10.3 billion in 2016.

    Afreximbank had total assets of $11.7 billion as at Dec. 31, 2016 and is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s) and BBB- (Fitch).

    The Bank has its headquarters in Cairo.

  • Afreximbank opens shareholding to investing public

    Afreximbank opens shareholding to investing public

    Supranational trade finance bank, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), says it is opening its shareholding to the investing public with a 300 million dollars equity offering through the issuance of depositary receipts.

    A statement by the bank’s Head of Communications, Mr Obi Emekekwue, on Thursday said that the equity offering would be held under its Class “D” shares.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bank’s Class “D” are fully paid shares which can be held by any investor.

    The deal, whose listing has been approved on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius, subject to raising the funds by Sept. 30, is being handled by SBM Group, a leader in the financial sector in Mauritius.

    The equity offering is the first time a supranational bank is issuing depositary receipts through an African stock exchange.

    Dr Benedict Oramah, the President of Afreximbank, said that the aim was to enhance the bank’s capitalisation in order to significantly narrow the trade financing gap in Africa currently estimated at 120 billion dollars annually.

    Oramah said the seed funds would enable the bank meet its strategic objective of growing intra-African trade in all regions of the continent, including island economies.

    He said the bank had chosen Mauritius because it had conducive regulatory framework for this innovative equity offering.

    “On the other hand, SBM possesses the competencies, investor contacts, and support capabilities for the issuance of the depositary receipts.

    “The depositary receipts issuance represents an opportunity for Afreximbank to diversify its shareholder base by enabling investors in Africa and beyond who have not yet invested in the bank to do so.

    “It is also to strengthen Africa’s premier trade finance institution whose interventions in its various member countries have created acknowledged developmental impacts across the continent,” he said.

    Oramah said he was optimistic that the novel issuance would further deepen Africa’s capital markets and pave the way for similar issuances by other multilaterals.

    Kee Chong Li Kwong Wing, Chairman of SBM Holdings Ltd, said it was a privilege for SBM to have been saddled with the responsibility to execute such an important transaction.

    Li said it was high time global investors tapped into Africa’s huge potential by investing in Africa.

    Afreximbank shareholders are a four-tier mix of public and private entities with Class “A” consisting of African states, African central banks and African public institutions.

    Class “B” is made up of African financial institutions and African private investors, while Class “C” consist of non-African investors mostly international banks and export credit agencies.

    The bank’s two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement which gives it the status of an international organisation and the Charter which governs its corporate structure and operations.

    Since 1994, it has approved more than $51 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $10.3 billion in 2016.

    Afreximbank had total assets of 11.7 billion dollars as at Dec. 31, 2016 and is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch).

    The Bank is headquartered in Cairo.

  • Afreximbank secures $632.9m, €449.6m syndicated loan facility

    Afreximbank secures $632.9m, €449.6m syndicated loan facility

    The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has successfully closed a record 632.9 million dollars and 499.6 million Euro dual-tenor dual-currency syndicated term loan facility.

    Afreximbank announced this on Saturday in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    It said that the general syndication stage of the 632.9 million dollar and 499. 6 million Euro facility, which the bank raised in the Eurocurrency loan market, was originally signed on May 12.

    General syndication lenders signed into the agreement on 30 May, making the facility the largest ever such facility for the bank.

    According to the bank, the fact that the facility attracted a wide base of lenders from around the globe and particularly from Asia and the Middle East, is evidence of the confidence which lenders have in Afreximbank.

    “With 70 per cent of the commitments coming from Asia and the Middle East, this facility greatly enhances our drive to diversify our liability book by geography,” said Denys Denya, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President in charge of Finance, Administration and Banking Services.

    Denya said that Afreximbank would use the funds to repay existing debt and would also apply it to funding trade finance and meeting general corporate purposes.

    The facility is structured as a dual-currency (Euro and US dollar) and dual-tenor (two-year and three-year) syndicated facility with about 80 per cent of the total amount falling into the three-year tranche, helping the bank to lengthen its liability profile in the Eurocurrency loan funding space.

    The facility attracted aggregate commitments amounting to the equivalent of 1.36 billion dollars which, following a scale-back, resulted in a final facility size equivalent to 1.16 billion dollars with 35 banks joining.

    Standard Chartered Bank served as coordinator, bookrunner and agent for the facility and was supported by 13 initially mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners.

  • Areximbank named African Banker of the Year

    Areximbank named African Banker of the Year

     Dr Benedict Oramah, the President of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has been named African Banker of the Year at the African Banker Awards 2017 ceremony in India.

    A statement by Afreximbank in Lagos on Wednesday said that the award was presented on Tuesday at a ceremony on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of African Development Bank.

    The bank said that the award was given to a banker who, through leadership and vision, had overseen strong financial performance within his or her organisation.

    “Such a banker would also have successfully guided that institution to new heights in the industry”.

    In his acceptance speech, Oramah, a Nigerian, said that he was able to win the award as a result of the dedicated work of the staff of Afreximbank.

    He said the staff had put in sustained efforts and made sacrifices to enable the bank continue performing in order to meet the challenges confronting Africa in the area of trade.

    Other nominees for the award included Segun Agbaje of GTB in Nigeria, Jeremy Awori of Barclays Bank in Kenya, Dr Charles Kimei of CRDB Bank in Tanzania, James Mwangi of Equity Bank in Kenya and Joshua Nyamweya Olgara of KCB in Kenya.

    Also at the ceremony, Guaranty Trust Bank of Nigeria was named African Bank of the Year, Rameswurlall Basant Roi, Governor of Central Bank of Mauritius, was named Central Bank Governor of the Year, while Rand Merchant Bank in South Africa was named Investment Bank of the Year.

    Other winners included Equity Bank of Kenya as the Best Retail Bank, MasterCard and Ecobank were named for Innovation in Banking.

    Waheed Olagunju of Bank of Industry in Nigeria was named African Banker Icon, while Amadou Ba, Minister of Finance of Senegal was named the Finance Minister of the Year.

    According to Afreximbank, the African Banker Awards were introduced to recognise reforms, rapid modernisation and expansion of banking and finance in Africa.

    “The awards reward the outstanding achievements of companies and individuals that have changed the perception of Africa’s potentials in domestic and international markets”.

     

  • Obasanjo, Adesina to speak on African trade at Afreximbank AGM

    Obasanjo, Adesina to speak on African trade at Afreximbank AGM

    The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) says former President Olusegun Obasanjo will speak on African trade at the bank’s 24th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) scheduled for June 28 in Kigali.

    This was announced in a statement by the bank’s spokesman, Mr Obi Emekekwue, on Wednesday in Lagos.

    Emekekwue said the President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, and Okechukwu Enelamah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment of Nigeria would also speak at the event.

    He said Prof. Justin Lin, Director, Centre for New Structural Economics and Honorary Dean, National School of Development, Peking University, China and Ade Ayeyemi, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Transnational, would speak on integration.

    He said that Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, Anastase Murekezi, the Prime Minister and Claver Gatete, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, among others, would address the four-day event.

    According to Emekekwue, the theme of this year’s meeting is: Boosting intra-African trade and integration.

    He said the event would feature a meeting of the Afreximbank Advisory Group on Trade Finance and Export Development in Africa, which would focus on Africa’s trade opportunities in a world of rising protectionism.

    “There will be an investment forum to be hosted by the Rwandan Government while a trade exhibition will also take place on June 30,” he said.

    Afreximbank is the foremost Pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade.

    The bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors, and non-African investors.

    Its two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement, which gives it the status of an international organisation, and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations.

    Since 1994, it has approved more than 51 billion dollars in credit facilities for African businesses, including about 10.3 billion do0llars in 2016.

    Afreximbank has total assets of 9.4 billion dollars as at April 30, 2016 and is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch). The bank is based in Cairo.