Standard Bank in $150m deal to strengthen African trade

by Richard Kilner

Story link: Standard Bank in $150m deal to strengthen African trade

Standard Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) have announced a loan agreement of $150m intended to bolster trade finance within Africa.

Standard Bank Group Chief Executive Jacko Maree and JBIC President and CEO Hiroshi Watanabe signed the agreement in Turkey during the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund’s annual meeting.

Maree has described the agreement as a significant step for Africa which will be good for Standard Bank, the region and the entire continent.

The deal is the first trade facility programme in Africa and the first transaction between The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (SBSA) and JBIC.

In September Dr. James Mwangi, Equity Bank Chief Executive Officer, called for the world to invest in Africa and to tap its unrealised potential.

Dr. Mwangi pointed out that because African financial institutions relied more on hard cash than their Western counterparts the continent had been been affected as badly by the financial crisis.