Crusoe Osagie
President of Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah, has described Aliko Dangote as an enigma that is assiduously working towards the unification, growth and development of the African continent.
Speaking during the facility tour of 650,000 bpd Dangote Refinery in Lagos, Oramah commended the group for significantly contributing to the GDP of the African continent;
He said: “I do not have the right vocabulary to describe how I feel about what I have seen today. Except to say that for us, the vision we see in Aliko has been demonstrated in the projects that we see today. The desire to change things is one we share as an organisation and as individuals and is clearly demonstrated today. If I had any doubt, if we should work with Dangote Industries Limited, those doubts were erased today. It is in fact a privilege. It is not only a privilege but a duty to work with him. I hope the relationship would grow from strength to strength.”
Dangote Industries Limited last week concluded plans to become the latest corporate organisation to join the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), as a class B shareholder.
Afreximbank, is an International financial institution, headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, whose primary objective is to promote and finance trade within the African continent and trade between Africa and other continents.
Welcoming the investment of Dangote Group, Oramah stated that the investment was “a strong vote of confidence in the bank by, arguably, the largest indigenous corporate organisation in Africa.”
“The massive investment the Dangote Group is making across Africa makes it a partner of choice in the delivery of our intra-African trade strategy. Working with the Dangote Group, we will build supply chain financing across Africa that could reach $1 billion in the short term, promoting intra-regional trade and growth of Short and Medium Enterprises and creating much needed jobs,” Oramah said.
It was further revealed that the Dangote Group completed the process of acquiring equity in the bank on May 30 this year with a “substantial investment.”
President of Dangote Group said: “I consider Afreximbank a good vehicle for fostering regional integration in Africa which aligns with our vision and mission for growth and development across the continent.”
Afreximbank has four classes of shareholders, divided into classes A, B, C and D, which are made up of a mix of African governments, central banks, regional and sub-regional institutions, African private investors, African and non-African financial institutions, export credit agencies and non-African private investors.
Class “A” shareholders are African states, African central banks and African public institutions, including the African Development Bank, while Class “B” is made up of African financial institutions and African private investors.
Class “C” shares are held by non-African investors, mostly international banks and export credit agencies, including Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, Citibank, China Exim Bank and Exim India. Class “D” shares, a tier approved in December 2012, are fully paid par value shares that can be held by any investor.
