Post by Trade Forum on Oct 20, 2022 22:31:37 GMT 1
UK Export Finance guarantees £170m worth of deals in Benin and Togo
UK investment to West Africa is “slowly building momentum,” says His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner, John Humphry, following commitments of over £170m ($191m) made at the inaugural UK-Francophone West and Central Africa Trade & Investment Forum.
The event in London on Wednesday 19 October, which brought together senior delegates from Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Niger, Guinea, Gabon, and Togo was punctuated by two financial packages focussed on Benin and Togo.
UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, announced it will guarantee both a £106.5m loan ($123m) from Deutsche Bank to the Benin Government to fund the construction of a new Ministerial City. It also promised a £68.6m financing from MUFG Bank to build a new road between Benin and Togo to accelerate inter-Africa trade.
Both projects will unlock £82m in export opportunities for UK businesses, says Humphry.
“We have seen a deepening of ties between Francophone Africa and the UK beyond our established relationships with Anglophone countries over the last few years, as countries in West Africa have joined the commonwealth,” Humphry told The Africa Report. Cameroon joined the commonwealth in October 2018, while Gabon and Togo joined in June 2022.
“Moving on, financial commitments will continue to focus on infrastructure and clean energy, which will bring in a number of opportunities for British businesses going forward,” he says.
Source: www.theafricareport.com/252314/uk-export-finance-guarantees-170m-worth-of-deals-in-benin-and-togo/
UK investment to West Africa is “slowly building momentum,” says His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner, John Humphry, following commitments of over £170m ($191m) made at the inaugural UK-Francophone West and Central Africa Trade & Investment Forum.
The event in London on Wednesday 19 October, which brought together senior delegates from Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Niger, Guinea, Gabon, and Togo was punctuated by two financial packages focussed on Benin and Togo.
UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, announced it will guarantee both a £106.5m loan ($123m) from Deutsche Bank to the Benin Government to fund the construction of a new Ministerial City. It also promised a £68.6m financing from MUFG Bank to build a new road between Benin and Togo to accelerate inter-Africa trade.
Both projects will unlock £82m in export opportunities for UK businesses, says Humphry.
“We have seen a deepening of ties between Francophone Africa and the UK beyond our established relationships with Anglophone countries over the last few years, as countries in West Africa have joined the commonwealth,” Humphry told The Africa Report. Cameroon joined the commonwealth in October 2018, while Gabon and Togo joined in June 2022.
“Moving on, financial commitments will continue to focus on infrastructure and clean energy, which will bring in a number of opportunities for British businesses going forward,” he says.
Source: www.theafricareport.com/252314/uk-export-finance-guarantees-170m-worth-of-deals-in-benin-and-togo/
