The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Export-Import Bank of China (Cexim) have signed a $600-million loan to fund loans and trade finance transactions.

The purpose of the loan is to facilitate and finance the trade and economic cooperation between the member States of Afreximbank and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the organisations said.

The loan will also aid in promoting financial cooperation between Africa and the PRC.

“It is fortuitous that the signing of this important facility coincides with the tenth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This is strong evidence of the rapid growth in cooperation between China and Africa.

“Noting that the BRI is a blueprint of cooperation aimed at enhancing policy, trade infrastructure, and financial and people-to-people connectivity, as a bank we are committed to play a big role, especially in leveraging financial resources into Africa.

“This facility will help to catalyse trade financing between Africa and the PRC, thereby enhancing flow of goods, capital and technology,” said Afreximbank president and chairperson Professor Benedict Oramah.

Further, through its sixth Strategic Plan, which runs from 2022 to 2026, Afreximbank is working to broaden its role in African trade finance and continues to see lots of collaboration opportunities on the continent.

“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 said.

The signing of the agreement is a concrete measure taken by Cexim in fulfilling its due responsibilities to promote high-quality BRI cooperation and to implement the nine programmes under the Forum on China and Africa Cooperation framework. It is also an important example of third-party market cooperation carried out by Cexim, said Cexim president Shengjun Ren.

Additionally, the two sides agreed to take the signing of this agreement as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation in various areas including credit business, equity investment, capital market operations, trade finance, personnel exchange and knowledge sharing, so as to make positive contributions to China-Africa economic cooperation and trade, as well as sustainable economic and social development of African countries, the organisations said.