Afreximbank seals $1.2b dual currency deals

Targets more regional trade, financing

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has concluded a record $1.16 billion dual-tenor and dual-currency syndicated term loan facility, structured as $632.9 million and 499.6 million euros.

The move will help the multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade to pursue its avowed regional trade integrations and financing goals, support corporate organizations, as well as repay existing debt and general corporate purposes.

The general syndication, which was raised in the Eurocurrency Loan Market, has been signed on since May 12, while the lenders signed into the agreement on May 30, as the facility marked the largest ever of such facility by the bank.

According to the bank, the fact that the facility attracted a wide base of lenders from around the globe, but particularly from Asia and the Middle East, is evidence of the confidence, which lenders have in Afreximbank.

Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President in charge of Finance, Administration and Banking Services, Denys Denya, said with 70 per cent of the commitments coming from Asia and the Middle East, this facility greatly enhances the drive to diversify liability book by geography.

The facility, structured as a dual-currency- euro and United States dollar and dual-tenor- two and three years each, with about 80 per cent of the total amount falling into the three-year tranche, it will help the bank to lengthen its liability profile in the eurocurrency loan funding space.

The facility had attracted aggregate commitments amounting to the equivalent of $1.36 billion, which following a scale-back, resulted in a final facility size equivalent to $1.16 billion, with 35 banks joining.

In the build up to the deal, Standard Chartered Bank served as coordinator, bookrunner and agent for the facility and was supported by 13 initial mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners.

They include Bank ABC (Arab Banking Corporation B.S.C.); Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC; The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Limited; Barclays Bank Mauritius Limited; Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Ltd.; Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft Filiale Luxemburg; and Emirates NBD Capital Limited.

Others are Rand Merchant Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited (London Branch); HSBC Bank Plc; ICBC (London) Plc.; Mizuho Bank Limited; National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC; and The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, Isle of Man Branch.

On the other hand, the 13 initial mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners were joined at the general syndication stage by AKA Ausfuhrkredit; Axis Bank; Bank of China; Bank of Taiwan; Banque Misr; Commercial Bank of Kuwait; Export-Import Bank of China; First Commercial Bank; State Bank of India; and Chang Hwa Commercial Bank.

Others are Land Bank of Taiwan; Mega International Commercial Bank Co.; Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank; Barclays Bank Egypt; Ghana International Bank; KEB Hana Bank; Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank; The Export – Import Bank of the Republic of China; Export-Import Bank of Korea; and Federated Investors, Inc. as mandated lead arrangers and arrangers.