NMB to get US$20m credit line
LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
Fresh from inking a US$10m deal with the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), NMB Bank is set to get double the amount from the same institution next year amid growing appetite for foreign currency from exporters.
The US$10m credit line, unveiled yesterday, will be a three-year line of credit facility to support the bank’s clients in export-focused sectors of the economy.
Speaking at the side lines of the signing ceremony, NMB Bank CEO Gerald Gore told Business Times that the US$10m will be drawn down by December and more lines of credit will be needed.
“We have several exporting clients from various sectors of the economy and we are confident that they will draw down the current US$10m from TDB and an additional US$20m is needed to support exporters to generate much-needed foreign currency,” Gore said.
He said horticulture exporters have been topping the drawing-down list of many facilities and they should continue utilising them.
“There is a huge list of exporters who are yet to benefit from these facilities hence should get their shot hence the need for applying for another credit line,” Gore said.
NMB Bank has been on a drive to mobilise foreign lines of credit leveraging on the bank’s strong international shareholder profile.
The credit line will be deployed to support corporates with trade-enabling working capital needs and capital expenditures.
Priority will be given to sectors that enhance Zimbabwe’s export base, increase forex revenue and support expanded employment in sectors such as agriculture, mining, hospitality and tourism, and manufacturing.
Speaking at the event on Wednesday, Coverage for Southern Africa TDB group executive Gloria Mamba said NMB is a bank of excellence as it has paid back lines of credit extended to it.
“The banks have been working together since 2010 when TDB availed the first line of credit to NMB Bank for general corporate customers. In 2019, TDB and NMB came together to support a local microfinance institution extending its lending to SMEs. To continue this relationship with NMB in the expansion and retooling of the Zimbabwean economy is important to us,” Mamba said.
Gore said TDB has extended several credit lines to NMB and more is expected from that relationship.
“Our partnership with TDB has stood the test of time. This line of credit helps to support our shared focus on growth, sustainability, and overall contribution to the development of the Zimbabwean economy. The facility provides the much-needed support to our exporting entities to retool and for working capital support for them to compete effectively in the global arena,” Gore said.
In Zimbabwe, TDB’s portfolio has been supporting the retooling of the economy, availability of foreign currency to support exports, and inter and intra-Africa trade, through various projects and transactions in several sectors including manufacturing, healthcare, agribusiness, power, as well as hospitality and tourism.
Established in 1985, TDB is a multilateral, treaty-based, investment-grade development finance institution, with 44 sovereign and institutional shareholders and assets of US$8bn.
TDB serves 23 economies in its region, with the mandate to finance and foster trade, regional economic integration, and sustainable development through trade finance, project and infrastructure finance, and asset management.
NMB has among its top shareholders strong international and regional entities such as African Century, Arise, Old Mutual, and AfricInvest all have a very strong African footprint.
