Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has further enhanced its medium term funding programme by completing a US$50 million bilateral loan facility with Rand Merchant Bank (RMB)‚ a division of First Rand Bank Limited.
AFC is continuously leveraging its balance sheet to fund further investments in the development of critical infrastructure in the power‚ natural resources‚ transport‚ heavy industry and telecommunications sectors across Africa.
AFC is an African-led international financial institution‚ established in 2007 whose mission is to improve African economies by proactively developing and financing infrastructure‚ industrial and financial assets. AFC is involved as a developer and financier of various infrastructure projects. The additional borrowing in the international loan markets‚ adds to the financings that AFC has already completed with development finance and other commercial institutions and consolidates its position as a destination for cross border financing in Africa.
RMB is the investment banking arm of FirstRand Bank Limited. The FirstRand Group is the largest listed banking group (by market capitalisation) on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. RMB has a geographical footprint across 35 African countries‚ the UK‚ India‚ China‚ and the Middle East and offers advisory‚ funding‚ trading‚ private wealth management and principal investing solutions.
Commenting on AFC’s expansion of AFC’s borrowing in the International Loan markets‚ Andrew Alli‚ President & CEO of AFC said: “This bilateral facility further consolidates AFC’s international borrowing strategy‚ and demonstrates the institution’s growing capacity to raise finance competitively‚ for infrastructure projects within Africa.”
Rob Hamer‚ Co-Head of RMB Investment Banking noted “By concluding this mutually beneficial US dollar term loan facility to AFC‚ RMB has successfully implemented its strategy to expand its services into Africa and become a leading financier of African infrastructure‚ trade and development banks. RMB looks forward to an ongoing partnership and co-operation with AFC across the African continent.” - I-Net Bridge