Nigeria: AFREXIM Bank, China’s Export-Import Bank seal $600 million trade finance deal

The African Export-Import Bank and China’s Export-Import Bank (CEXIM) have struck a $600 million deal to boost trade and economic collaboration between AFREXIM bank members and China.

The President of AFREXIM bank, Prof. Benedict Oramah and Vice President of Afreximbank, Dr. George Elombi together with the CEXIM bank’s Vice President Mr. Wencai Zhang signed the deal at CEXIM’s headquarters in Beijing, China.

The loan’s main purpose is to facilitate and finance trade and economic cooperation among Afreximbank member states and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Furthermore, it will contribute to enhancing financial cooperation between Africa and the PRC.

Speaking at the event which aligns with the 10th anniversary of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Prof. Oramah highlighted that the agreement serves as strong evidence of the rapid growth and collaboration between China and Africa.

Furthermore, he emphasized that the facility would boost trade financing between Africa and the People’s Republic of China by facilitating the movement of goods and services.

“Working with partners like CEXIM, we aim to attain the goals of this strategy, especially supporting China-Africa Cooperation and expanding Africa’s export manufacturing capacity”

 He added that within the scope of its 6th Strategic Plan, spanning from 2022 to 2026, Afreximbank is actively expanding its involvement in African trade finance and remains optimistic about various collaboration opportunities across the continent.

President of CEXIM, Shengjun Ren stated that the agreement represents a concrete move by CEXIM to fulfill its commitment to promote high-quality cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and to implement the nine programs outlined in the Forum on China and Africa Cooperation framework.

The agreement serves as a significant example of third-party market collaboration initiated by CEXIM.