Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, 22 February 2016: – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) originates and distributes more than $15 billion dollars to African businesses annually to support trade on the continent, Bank President Dr. Benedict Oramah said yesterday in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.
Speaking when Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail received him on the sidelines of the Africa Forum 2016, Dr. Oramah said that the amount included some $7 billion provided directly by Afreximbank and additional financing which it attracted into the continent through its syndications transactions.
He told the Prime Minister that the Bank had provided about $300 million to Egyptian businesses out of the $500 million dollars set aside under the Bank’s Egypt-Africa Trade Promotion Programme which seeks to increase Egypt’s trade with other African countries. The Bank has also received additional requests totaling more than $700 million for financing under the programme.
The President added that the Bank was working with several Egyptian manufacturers exporting to other Africa countries by providing them with necessary support to put them at near equal footing with other global players in those markets.
Afreximbank’s support to Egypt also included a $500-million facility which it agreed with the Central Bank of Egypt a few days earlier to help Egyptian importers alleviate temporary foreign currency availability constraints to the importation of strategic and key industrial products.
The President said that Afreximbank was now focusing more on intra-regional trade and investment in addition to promoting value addition in the products that Africa produces.
Responding, Prime Minister Ismail said that said that Egypt was keen to work with Afreximbank and invited the Bank to consider cooperating with the country in the financing of key projects, particularly in the area of logistics centres and other trade supporting infrastructure.
Earlier, the President participated in a private meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al Sisi. He also held bilateral meetings with Ashraf Salman, Minister of Investment of Egypt; Stephane Sanou, Minister of Commerce and Industry of Burkina Faso; and Dr. Ahmed Darwish, Chairman of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
Also yesterday, Denys Denya, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President in charge of Finance, Administration and Banking Services, participated in a panel discussion on finance, using the opportunity to discuss the role of the Bank in supporting trade across Africa.
The two-day Africa Forum 2016, which ended yesterday, was organized under the theme “Business for Africa, Egypt and the World”.
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, Afreximbank has approved almost $35 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $4.5 billion in 2014. Afreximbank is headquartered in Cairo. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com