African Export-Import Bank plans to sell shares in Nigeria and two other African countries to support lending and broaden its ownership base.
The Cairo-based lender is in talks with Nigerian regulators to issue depositary receipts and raise equity worth $200 million by the third quarter. Afreximbank said it is still considering the other markets and will release details once discussions have been finalized.
The bank will list about 67 million existing depository receipts on the Nigerian Stock Exchange to improve liquidity, it said. The lender approved $3.2 billion credit for Nigerian companies last year and has received loan applications from more than 30 firms in the West African nation, the lender said. It is targeting trade, financial services, tourism, manufacturing, export infrastructure and agro-processing for loans, it said.
As the Nigerian economy recovers, “funding is required to harness the opportunities,” Afreximbank said, adding that it is talking with the Nigerian Export-Import Bank about a joint program that will grow the country’s non-oil exports.