The Sunday Mail
Online Reporter
Zimbabwe sealed deals worth at least US$190 million, at the second Intra Africa Trade Fair (IATF) that ended on Sunday in Durban, South Africa.
Deals worth US$36 billion were recorded by all countries that attended the fair.
President Mnangagwa, was one of the seven head of states who attended the continent’s premier trade show.
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) signed financing agreements with four Zimbabwean entities to the tune of US$188,6 million.
Afreximbank signed a US$110,4 million loan facility with the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC).
According to a statement from IATF organisers, the funds will “help ZETDC to improve revenue collection through smart meters and prepaid meters and thus pay off regional creditors’ accounts.”
In addition to this, Afreximbank provided the Central African Building Society (CABS) with a US$40 million facility to support its participation in a syndicated facility, aimed at improving the supply of electricity in Zimbabwe through the payment of legacy debts and the importation of prepaid meters.
The third transaction was a US$28,2 million facility with CBZ Bank, to provide much-needed offshore foreign currency in Zimbabwe.
“The transaction will also help finance the import of raw materials for key industries, thereby creating jobs and, in some cases, facilitating export diversification,” IATF organisers said.
In the fourth deal, ZB Bank signed a US$10 million term sheet that will enable its participation as one of the syndicated lenders for the energy sector in Zimbabwe.
In addition to these four deals, the over 30 Zimbabwean companies that exhibited at Zimbabwe’s pavilion also struck several separate agreements, which could not be readily quantified.
