China Development Bank, Afreximbank in $500 Million Agreement to Support Africa’s Trade Infrastructure

Categories: Press Releases

Cairo, 07 Sept. 2018: – China Development Bank (CDB) yesterday in Changsha, China, signed an agreement providing a $500-million facility to the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to enable the African trade finance bank support trade enabling infrastructure projects across the continent.

The facility will also be used to support Afreximbank’s trade finance intermediaries to provide medium to long term financing for sub-projects in various sectors, including energy, telecommunication, transportation, agriculture, medical sector, industrial park or any related trade finance transactions. The facility carries a 10-year tenor.

Zheng Zhijie Liu, Vice Chairman and President of CDB, and Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, signed the facility agreement on behalf of their two institutions during a ceremony held on the sidelines of the “4th Investing in Africa Forum” which took place in Changsha.

“This facility strengthens our capacity to realize our mandate and makes it possible for Afreximbank and CDB to achieve important development outcomes in Africa,” said President Oramah. “We are actively seeking to drive Africa’s development by working with partners to support employment creation, increased economic activities, and increased tax earnings for governments arising from increased commercial activities resulting in increased earnings and profitability”.

Prof. Oramah said that the facility would contribute to the promotion of South-South trade, particularly between China and Africa, while providing long-term funding which Afreximbank would transfer to its clients.

Also speaking, Mr. Zheng Zhijie said that, as a development finance institution of the Chinese government, CDB had always promoted China-Africa cooperation as the focus of its international business.

Since 2006, the bank had provided more than $50 billion for nearly 500 projects in 43 countries, he said. Those funds had been used to support a large number of key projects in infrastructure, energy and minerals, telecommunications, agriculture, etc.

Several other agreements involving other institutions were also signed during the ceremony.

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Media Contact: Obi Emekekwue (oemekekwue@afreximbank.com; Tel. +202-2456-4238)

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About Afreximbank: The African Export-Import Bank (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 organization, and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations. Since 1994, it has approved about $60 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $8.5 billion in 2017. Afreximbank had total assets of $11.9 billion as at 31 December 2017 and is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com