African Export Import Bank : banks urged to adopt risk-sharing and distribution to accelerate structural transformation

African banks and financial institutions promote risk-sharing and distribution in order to accelerate the ongoing efforts at structural transformation of African economies through trade, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) urged today as the Bank's Annual Structured Trade Finance Seminar and Workshop entered its third day in Port Louis, Mauritius.

Opening the workshop segment on agency and syndicated loans, Amr Kamel, Afreximbank's Executive Vice President for Business Development and Corporate Banking, said that such an approach would enable the institutions to meet the growing demands from the market across the region.

Mr. Kamel said that the introduction of agency and syndicated loans during this year's seminar series was an acknowledgement of the increasing relevance of that subject to trade and trade finance in a context where increasing demand and declining trade finance in the face of the withdrawal of major global banks from the African trade finance space had resulted in widening trade financing gap. Thant gap was increasingly seen as a major constraint to trade.

Understanding the operation of the market for syndicated loans had become essential, he said, noting that that market had grown tremendously in the last two decades and was now a major source of funding for corporate entities and organizations.

Making presentations at the workshop were Gemma Haley, Associate Director at the Loan Market Association, London, presenting jointly with Steven Gamble, Director at Norton Rose Fulbright of South Africa, on the benefits of standardizing syndicated market practices.

Constantin Von Moltke, Head of Syndicated Loans (Structuring and Distribution) at Afreximbank moderated a panel discussion on syndicated lending in Africa, with Henry Morris, Head, Structured Trade and Project Finance at the Africa Finance Corporation; Lucy Konie, Head of Loan Syndications and Sales at Standard Bank, South Africa; and Ayodipo Ogunmoyela, Deputy Director for Structured Trade Commodity Finance at FBN London's Abu Dhabi Representative Office, as panelists.

Other presentations today were: Agency and Security Trustee: Roles and Responsibilities in a Syndicated Transaction, by Patrick Aduaye-Odiete, Head, Agency and Security Trustee, Afreximbank; African Debt Syndications' Evolution over the Past 25 years, by Hiren Singharay, CEO of Global Finance and Capital Ltd., UK; Legal Perspective: Practical Points for Borrowers New to Syndicated Lending, by Andrew Taylor, Partner at Hogan Lovells International LLP, UK; and French OHADA Law Aspects of Syndicated Lending, by Olivier Filles-Lambie, Partner at Hogan Lovells International LLP, Paris.

Irfan Azfal, Director, Syndications at Afreximbank, moderated a debate on African Debt Syndications' Evolution, featuring Mr. Singharay.

The seminar and workshop, which was declared open by Rameswurlall Basant Roi, Governor of the Central Bank of Mauritius, featured a welcome statement by Kee Chong Li Kwong Wing, Chairman of SBM, and a keynote address by Afreximbank President Dr. Benedict Oramah.

The close to 200 participants from 22 countries include senior executives from African banks and financial institutions, regulatory institutions, hedge funds, Africa country funds and venture capital institutions, corporate entities engaged in trade, manufacturing and privatized infrastructure projects, Afreximbank's trade finance and project finance intermediaries, African law firms and insurance firms are among participants expected at this year's seminar.

The four-day training started with the two-day Structured Trade Finance Seminar on 21 and 22 November and will end with a second workshop titled 'Making factoring work for Africa,' on 24 November.

The holding of the Trade Finance Seminar and Workshop is part of Afreximbank's effort to prepare African banks and financial institutions to meet the trade finance needs of the continent and is being organised in co-operation with the Central Bank of Mauritius and SBM.

• Publishing Date : November 23, 2016
• Category : News