Afreximbank gets 50m loan

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) said it had obtained 50 million dollars credit from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) to finance trade between Arab and African countries.
This is contained in a statement by the bank, which was made available to journalists on Tuesday in Lagos.
According to the statement, the grant is to guarantee regular flow of goods and services vital for economic growth in the countries.
The statement quoted President of Afreximbank, Dr Benedict Oramah, as saying that the facility would finance Arab exports to Afreximbank member states eligible for BADEA funding.
Oramah said that the credit marked the first step in cooperation between the two banks in the area of trade finance operations.
He said that the fund was for energy, industry and agriculture sectors to improve living conditions and alleviate poverty in African countries.
He explained that granting the credit demonstrated BADEA’s commitment to working with Afreximbank to develop the African continent and promote Arab-Africa trade.
Besides, Oramah said the credit was an opportunity to work with BADEA to expand its 500 million dollars Egypt-Africa Trade Promotion Programme and to replicate it in other Arab countries.
He added that Afreximbank hoped to match “capital-surplus’’ Arab economies with “resource-endowed’’ African countries in order to expand their influence and relevance in the global economy.
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.
Since 1994, Afreximbank has approved about 35 billion dollars credit facilities for African businesses.
The headquarters of the bank is in Cairo, Egypt. (NAN)