Libreville, 07 July 2017: – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has provided a total of $200 million in financing to date to support the Gabonese economy, Rene Awambeng, the Bank’s Director of Client Relations, has announced.
Speaking during the opening of a business forum organised by Afreximbank in Libreville on Wednesday, Mr. Awambeng said that the amount included financing provided for the development of the Ngok Economic Zone, construction of a container port in Owendo and development of agricultural infrastructure for palm oil fields.
He said that Afreximbank was committed to providing financial and advisory services to support the structural transformation of Gabon’s economy and that it was intensifying trade finance activities in the country to help counter the impact of the decline in commodity prices.
Afreximbank’s intervention plan included the promotion of local value addition in the agricultural and forestry sectors, increasing the country’s power production capacity to support industrial development, unlocking the mining industry’s potentials, accelerating the country’s digitisation drive, developing the tourism, transport and logistics infrastructure, and providing support to increase access to finance for small and medium enterprises, stated Mr. Awambeng.
Earlier, the Afreximbank team taking part in the forum met with Madeleine Berre, the Gabonese Minister of Investments and Trade, to discuss the country’s priority projects and identify ways in which the Bank could assist.
The one-day forum brought together Gabonese institutions and corporate entities engaged in trade finance and trade-related activities with representatives of the financial sector, business associations and government agencies.
The event was part of an awareness campaign by Afreximbank to enhance knowledge about its products and programmes in its member countries and to strengthen collaborative networks, gather insights about the needs of the business community and expand trade finance activities.
Media Contact: Fleur Tchibota (ftchibota@afreximbank.com; Tel. +202-2456-4260)
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 $51 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $10.3 billion in 2016. Afreximbank had total assets of $9.4 billion as at 30 April 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
