CAPE TOWN – The African Development Bank (AfDB) has seen yet another year of sustained indicators after it received a Triple-A rating by all three major agencies and sharply increased earnings.
In a statement on Tuesday, the bank said the significant performance comes ahead of its maiden African Investment Forum next month, which will offer a platform for sourcing funding for bankable African projects, brokering infrastructure deals and providing innovative financial solutions.
The event, which will be held in Johannesburg on November 7 to 9, will attract key global companies, financial players, and public officials who will address the continent’s critical infrastructure investment gaps.
The bank’s performance and ratings are based on the solid support from its shareholders, including in the form of strong callable capital. Net operational earnings for 2017 showed a 63 percent jump to $597 million (R8.6 billion) from $109m in 2016, capping a five-year upward trend from 2013.
The bank said that in projects performance, it disbursed a record $5.1bn to projects and programs across Africa in 2017, an increase of 14 percent over the previous all-time high of $4.5bn in 2016.
The statement said the bank’s financial performance and overall achievements across other key metrics like a volume of new development assistance, disbursements and governance, were excellent in spite of a well-recognised difficult operating environment.
“Of all multilateral development banks, African Development Bank operates in the most challenging ‘operating environment’ defined by rating agencies as a reflection of the risks associated with the countries of operation,” Senior Vice President, Charles Boamah said.