UBA Highlights Investment Opportunities in Chad

By Obinna Chima

The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has described the Republic of Chad as one of its  subsidiaries in the continent and urged potential investors to look into the country as an investment destination.

The pan-African bank was present at a roundtable organised in Paris recently, by the government of the Republic of Chad, on the financing of the country’s National Development Plan (2017- 2021).

The forum was opened and closed by the Chadian President, Idris Deby Itno. In attendance were the President of Mauritania, Moamed Ould Abdel Aziz; all the Chadian cabinet ministers, representatives from various governments, including the governments of Japan, Canada, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and from the African Union, AfDB, EU, IMF, the IFC and many others.

A statement from the bank explained that the Chairman of UBA Group, Mr. Tony Elumelu. was represented by the CEO, UBA Francophone Africa, Emeke E. Iweriebor.

Iweriebor who spoke at a session during the forum stated that UBA’s decision to invest in Chad a decade ago turned out to be a very sound investment decision.

He said UBA Chad had contributed to the growth of the Chadian economy through financing infrastructure, a critical lever in sustainable development.

HThe statement went further to describe UBA Chad as one of the Pan-African bank’s high performing subsidiaries in the continent and encouraged potential investors to look into Chad as an investment destination.

“With presence in 19 African countries and in London, Paris and New York, UBA has supported several projects in Tchad including a 60 Mega Watt Central Electricity power plant in Farcha. UBA contributed $18.5million and led the syndication that raised $80 million for the project resulting in an improvement in the access to electricity in Chad by 3.9 per cent.

“The bank continues to support the government of Chad in its development initiatives in the areas of infrastructure, oil and gas and other key sectors of the economy,” he added.

The forum on the National Development plan saw many organisations and countries pledging to support Chad with about $20 billion having been raised.

Ending the forum, the Chadian President Itno thanked all the people and organisations present who had come to support the country, promising that the administration was going to put in the maximum effort to ensure that the development plan is successful.

“This administration is a transparent one that is working with partners to ensure successful implementation of all the projects. It is the responsibility of the government to lead the country to sustainable development,” he said.