The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) yesterday in Egypt’s New Capital City signed an agreement to provide a $100-million credit facility to the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to promote Arab-Africa trade and investments.
The signing ceremony took place at the Africa 2019: Investment in Africa Forum, with Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah and ITFC CEO Hani Sombol signing on behalf of their two organisations in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Dr. Sahar Nasr.
The agreement states that the facility will help finance and derisk trade flows between the Arab and Africa regions, thereby raising the level of trade, which currently stands at about $500 million. It will also help in leveraging other Arabian funds in support of Arab investments in Africa.
The facility is part of the Afreximbank/ITFC Arab-Africa Trade and Investment Promotion Programme launched by the two organisations about two years ago and is aimed at deepening the partnership between them.
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 more than $67 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including $7.2 billion in 2018. Afreximbank had total assets of $13.4 billion as at 31 December 2018. It is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com
