Accra – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) says it will soon advance the availability of foreign exchange to the Bank of Ghana, as part of a foreign exchange liquidity support for imports into Ghana.
In a statement on Tuesday, Dr Benedict Oramah, President Designate of the bank, was quoted as making the promise when he visited Seth Terkper, Ghana’s Minister of Finance in Accra.
Oramah said that the funds would be available through foreign exchange swap arrangements.
He said the initiative was part of Afreximbank’s plans to help Ghana address the economic challenges it was facing due to the recent global financial crisis.
He said that, as part of the country assistance programme, Afreximbank planned to support Ghanaian banks with an initial investment of $200 million.
According to him, other plans include expansion of lines of credit to Ghanaian banks to enable them finance import of essential goods, including energy generation.
“Afreximbank will provide the banks with additional funding of up to $300 million to enable them pursue the ongoing discussion with the Volta River Authority.
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“The funding is to enable the banks pay for feed-stock imports and to clear arrears to creditors.
“Afreximbank will also increase its support to Ghana under the bank’s Export Development Programme and boost its service exports, particularly in the tourism sector,’’ he added.
Oramah explained that the bank’s decision to scale up intervention in Ghana was in recognition of the opportunities offered by its relatively stable socio-political and economic environment.
He reiterated that Afreximbank had approved credit facilities amounting to about $2 billion to the Ghanaian government, corporates and financial institutions since its inception in 1993.
Terkper, who welcomed the proposal by Afreximbank, said that the programme fit into the country’s economic strategies and plans.
Terkper announced that the government would soon establish a Ghana Export-Import Bank and requested that Afreximbank support and contribute to the new entity.
Afreximbank is the foremost Pan-African multilateral financial institution d African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)evoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade.
The bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors, and non-African investors.
Its two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement, which gives it the status of an international organization, and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations.
Since 1994, Afreximbank has approved almost $35 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $4.5 billion in 2014.
Afreximbank is headquartered in Cairo.(NAN)