On Monday, 22nd of January 2018, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announced that JSC Russian Export Centre (REC) has become the latest international financial organisation to join Afreximbank as a shareholder. This follows its successful subscription to Class “C” shares of the African multilateral trade finance bank.

“The shareholding, which became effective on 29 December 2017, followed discussions between the Bank and Russian officials during which the two sides explored ways of cooperating to take advantage of the numerous opportunities for trade and development between Russia and the African continent,” a statement from the bank reads.

The discussions resulted in an agreement signed by Dr. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, and Petr Fradkov, Chief Executive Officer of REC, on 11 December 2017, by which REC committed to subscribing to the Class “C” Afreximbank shares.

With the new partnership, the two entities have already started working actively on joint projects in a number of African countries, focusing mainly on mining and transport infrastructure.

REC is owned by the State Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank [VEB]).

What you didn’t know about shareholding in Afreximbank

  • Afreximbank shareholders are a mix of public and private entities divided into four classes and consist of African governments, central banks, regional and sub-regional institutions, private investors and financial institutions, as well as non-African financial institutions, export credit agencies and private investors.
  • Class “A” shareholders are African states, African central banks and African public institutions, including the African Development Bank.
  • Class “B” shareholders are made up of African financial institutions and African private investors.
  • Class “C” shares are held by non-African investors, mostly international banks and export credit agencies, while Class “D” shares, a tier approved in December 2012, are shares that can be held by any investor.

What you didn’t know about Afreximbank

  • Afrexim Bank is the foremost Pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting African trade.
  • It was established under two basic constitutive instruments which are the agreement signed by the member states and multilateral organisations, which gives the bank the status of an international multilateral organization and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations.
  • The bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors, and non-African investors.
  • Afrexim Bank commenced operations on 30 September 1994, following the signature of a headquarters agreement with the host government in August 1994.
  • Since 1994, it has approved more than 51 billion dollars in credit facilities for African businesses, including about 10.3 billion dollars in 2016.
  • Afreximbank has total assets of 9.4 billion dollars as at April 30, 2016.
  • The Bank is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch).
  • The bank is based in Cairo, Egypt.
  • Countries currently on the list of Afreximbank participating and shareholding states include Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, and Lesotho. Others are Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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