Port Louis, Mauritius, 5 October 2017: – Following the successful close of the private placement with subscription far in excess of the $100 million minimum, Depositary Receipts (DRs) of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) started trading on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) yesterday, with the Bank topping the list of issuers in terms of capital raised prior to a listing.
As per regulation, 5,000 DRs were listed at an initial price of $4.30 per DR. Yesterday, in a solid day of trading, the DRs closed, up 2.3 per cent, at $4.40 per DR and a market capitalisation of more than $170 million.
The listing of the Depositary Receipts represents a big first for Africa’s equity capital markets and marks the achievement of a unique initiative on which Afreximbank had been working with SBM Group, a leading Bank in the financial sector in Mauritius, as lead arranger and depositary of the DRs.
In a ceremony marking the first day of trading of the DRs, Afreximbank President Dr. Benedict Oramah said, “Today, the Government of Mauritius, SBM and Afreximbank make history. We realise the dream of Afreximbank founding fathers. This Depositary Receipts issuance is the first of its kind to be initiated by a multilateral financial institution. We welcome the new investors who have made the choice to support Afreximbank and Africa’s development through this issuance. There can be no better vehicle for participating in the dynamic economies across Africa while yielding attractive returns.”
President Oramah said that by investing in the DRs, investors would immediately diversify their risks across the 46 economies of the Bank’s African member states, with diverse opportunities, vibrancy and risk profiles, thereby protecting themselves from country and currency risks.
Most importantly, their investment would help the Bank intensify its trade and project finance activities across the continent, boosting intra-African trade, accelerating industrialization and increasing value-added exports from Africa, in line with its “IMPACT 2021:Africa Transformed” Strategy, he added.
In his speech, Sunil Benimadhu, Chief Executive of the SEM, said, “We congratulate Afreximbank for the successful listing of its Depositary Receipts on SEM and we thank the Board and Management of Afreximbank for having opted for Mauritius as their jurisdictional choice for the launch of this innovative initiative. The listing and trading of Afreximbank’s DR on SEM confirms the SEM’s successful positioning as an attractive capital-raising, listing and trading platform for well-established African issuers and niche international products.”
In his own remarks, Kee Chong Li Kwong Wing, Chairman of SBM Holdings Ltd, noted that all the parties involved in the issuance and listing, from the issuing organisation, to the arranger, co-advisors and the stock exchange, were African entities, saying that that made the listing a landmark accomplishment and a groundbreaking success story in Africa’s financial industry.
Afreximbank President Dr. Benedict Oramah and Sunil Benimadhu, Chief Executive of the SEM ringing the listing bell as members of the Afreximbank and SEM delegations look on.
Media Contact: Fleur Tchibota (ftchibota@afreximbank.com; Tel. +202-2456-4260)
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About the African Export-Import Bank (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 $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 31 December 2016 and is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com
About the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM):
The Stock Exchange of Mauritius Ltd (SEM) started its operations in 1989 and has over the years emerge as one of the leading Exchanges in Africa. The SEM has in recent years witnessed a significant overhaul of its operational, regulatory and technical framework to reflect the ever-changing standards of the stock market environment worldwide. The SEM offers a unique multi-currency capital-raising and listing platform in USD, GBP, EURO and ZAR. For more information, visit: www.stockexchangeofmauritius.com