TDB extends US$150m to Zim
LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
The Trade and Development Bank (TDB) has extended more than US$150m to institutions in Zimbabwe in the past few years, a senior official has said, as the country lures in more financiers to support the economy.
Speaking at the recent Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, TDB Senior Officer, John Madaba said the lender availed trade finance and financed infrastructure projects in Zimbabwe.
“We have done a number of projects and infrastructure finance [PIF] with a number of Zimbabwean companies. These include the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), which accessed US$30m (for the rehabilitation of Kariba South Hydroelectric Power Station), Econet Wireless (US$90m), Avenues Clinic (US$2.65m) (to finance the replacement and refurbishment programme for the hospital’s aging equipment), Schweppes Zimbabwe (US$7.5m) and Dairibord Zimbabwe (US$6m), among other projects,” Madaba said.
TDB provided long-term financing to various high impact sectors and also promotes innovation and development through funding catalytic projects in various sectors.
“Loans are structured to rely on the project’s cash flows for repayment. Project’s assets, rights, and other interests are held as collateral.
“Under PIF, loans are generally structured as non-recourse or limited recourse in which debt, equity and credit enhancement are combined for the construction, operation or the re-financing of a facility in a capital-intensive industry,” Madaba said.
The project finance loans offered by TDB have tenures ranging from three to 15 years including a maximum capital grace period of typically three years.
Longer tenures can be negotiated depending on a project financial and operational requirement.
He said these loans could be offered as project finance loans or corporate loans.
As part of corporate social responsibility initiatives, TDB donated to victims of Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani and Chipinge districts in Zimbabwe.
In 2020, TDB, also donated rapid diagnostic testing kits and various personal protective equipment worth US$50 000 to Zimbabwe.
The donations were handed over to various beneficiary institutions namely St. Anne’s Hospital, Victoria Chitepo Hospital, Mpilo Hospital, Rusike Poly Clinic & Parirenyatwa Hospital.
TDB is a multilateral, treaty-based financial institution with immunities and privileges.
TDB has a double legal domicile: in Mauritius and Burundi.
Its shareholder base includes 23 regional member States across COMESA, SADC, EAC, the AfDB as a strategic institutional shareholder, the People’s Bank of China, the Development Bank of Belarus and non-regional institutional shareholders.
