South Africa joins Afreximbank as a shareholder

(Business Live, Johannesburg, 20 February 2018) Showing its commitment to promoting intra-African trade and economic integration, South Africa has taken up shareholding in the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the continental multilateral trade finance institution. The South African government is represented by the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa (ECIC) as its designated investor, in line with the terms of the provisions of the charter of the bank. The shareholding makes South Africa the 47th African country to join Afreximbank as a participating state and/or shareholder. “South Africa accounts for about 30%–35% of total intra-African trade,” he added, “making its membership critical for the attainment of the bank's strategic goal of moving intra-African trade share of Africa’s total trade from about 15% currently to 22% by 2021, and raising its annual value to more than $250bn by that year.