Published: October 26, 2012
African development finance institution raises funds from 12 lenders.
PTA Bank – the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank – has raised Kshs12.75bn (US$150mn) from the international syndicated loan market to fund trade financing and infrastructure spending.
The loan was arranged by Commerzbank, FirstRand Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. The deal was scaled up from an initial target of US$100mn and attracted nine other banks in syndication – namely Standard Bank, Ghana International Bank, HSBC, Mauritius Commercial Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Egypt’s Banque Du Caire, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Nigeria’s Zenith Bank and UAE-based Mashreq Bank.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in London, PTA Bank president Admassu Tadesse said: “Our successful loan syndication is a very welcome sign of the growing capacity of global and international banks to embrace the emerging opportunities and improving credits in Africa’s fast growing economies.”
Tadesse added that recent sovereign bonds from African governments have shown the continent’s appeal to international investors.
“Yields on bonds from our region have declined significantly to the point where they are now comparable with yields for several emerging European economies – not to mention some highly indebted high-income European countries,” he said. “There is no doubt that the decade long growth and improved economic governance and management has led to far healthier balance sheets than before, and ultimately unprecedented demand for African credit, both sovereign and corporate.”
Click here to read EMEA Finance’s profile interview with Tadesse following his appointment as PTA Bank’s president this year.