One of the leading banks in Africa, the South Africa-based Standard Bank, is looking into opportunities that will enable it to finance investment
projects in Ethiopia.
Jaz Vanmali, head of construction and cement, corporate and investment banking at Standard Bank, told The Reporter that Standard Bank has put in place an agreement with a local agent in Ethiopia. “At the moment we are not financing any investment project in Ethiopia. We have not been approached,” Vanmali said.
However, she said that Standard Bank indirectly supported investment projects in Ethiopia. “We work with development banks like the International Finance Corporation (IFC)–the investment arm of the Wordl Bank Group–and the Preferential Trade Area (PTA) bank in terms of supporting investment project financing. We are now looking at financing opportunities Ethiopia. We cannot directly finance investment projects in Ethiopia. At this point we do not have a balance sheet in Ethiopia,” Vanmali said.
She went on to say that Standard Bank does not have liquidity in Ethiopia. However, she said the bank could finance investment projects in Ethiopia from South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania where it does have liquidity. “That is something we can do,” she said.
Vanmali explained that Standard bank has an interest in financing cement and construction projects, infrastructure development projects and power generation projects. The bank looks at further growth in West Africa. “We recently finalized an agreement with a local agent in Ethiopia. We partner with local banks. We are also looking at Rwanda and DRC.”
Vanmali came to Addis Ababa to participate at the 7th Africa Cement Trade Summit held from April 14-15, 2015 at the Sheraton Addis.
According to Africa Development Bank (AfDB), Africa needs USD 360 billion for the major infrastructure development projects that will come through in the coming 15 years. Forty percent of the financing will be required by energy projects and 25 percent will be for transportation.
The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited is one of South Africa’s largest financial services groups. It operates in 32 countries around the world, including 19 in Africa. It was established by a renowned entrepreneur, John Paterson in 1862.
Headquartered in Johannesburg, the bank currently has a market capitalization of USD 22 billion and assets worth USD 160 billion. The bank offers, among others, personal banking, investment banking, liquidity management and property management services.
[TheReporterEthiopia]