Published: August 29, 2014
Zimbabwean firm gains in Afreximbank-guaranteed syndicated loan deal.
Zimbabwe’s FBC Bank has secured a three-year, US$60mn syndicated loan.
Standard Chartered Zimbabwe, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft and Investec Asset Management acted as joint mandated lead arrangers, with African Export-import Bank (Afreximbank), a regional development bank, providing a guarantee. Standard Chartered and Afreximbank were also joint coordinators.
The funds are intended to boost the liquidity of the Zimbabwean market and enable FBC to support strategic sectors such as education, telecommunications and infrastructure. Projects that are likely to receive funding include the country’s first DNA testing laboratory, established by the National University of Science and Technology, and the scaling up of the country’s telecommunications infrastructure by Tel One, the country’s largest telco.
Webster Rusere, managing director of FBC Bank, said: “This syndication will not only support FBC’s successful business strategy in Zimbabwe, but also enable us to deliver tangible benefits and make a difference in the lives of individual Zimbabweans.”