Afreximbank looks to expand its financing to Egyptian market by $3.2B

Cairo – July 14, 2024: Egypt could potentially see fresh funding from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) by the end of the year, according to explained Executive Vice President of Global Trade Bank of Africa at Afreximbank, Haytham El Maayergi, speaking to Asharq Business.

The VP explained that the bank is considering increasing its current financing to Egypt by an additional $3.2 billion, which would up its total volume of its Egyptian financing to $5 billion in 2024.

Afreximbank has granted around $12.8 billion to Egyptian banks and companies in the past three years, El Maayergi explained, with $9.5 billion injected into local banks such as Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt.

During the first five months of 2024, the bank has provided around $1.8 billion in financing towards small and medium enterprises and intra-trade.

El Maayergi also shared that work on securing the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) joining of Afreximbank’s Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which enables African countries to trade using local currencies.

PAPSS, launched in 2022, is a cross-border, financial market infrastructure enabling payment transactions across Africa in local currencies as part of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

The VP explained that it would strengthen the Egyptian pound as a key currency for trade in Africa, leading to a reduced reliance on the USD and other currencies as it trades with PAPSS members using local currencies.

Currently, 13 African central banks have joined the PAPSS system, and more than 115 commercial banks have been linked.

Afreximbank has provided $30 billion in financing to Egypt over the past five years, according to the bank’s President Benedict Oramah in March, including $16 billion for the country’s banking sector.