The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has provided a $20 million credit facility to Nigeria-based industrial giant, Innoson Technical and Industrial Company (ITIC) Limited, for the purchase of inputs for production of plastic goods in a transaction aimed at giving a substantial boost to regional trade across West and Central Africa.
ITIC, is the biggest manufacturer of plastic products in Nigeria, and makes plastic chairs, tables, trays, plates, spoons, cups, jerry cans and other allied products. It will use the credit facility to purchase raw materials from China and from the Eleme Petro Chemical Plant in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, for producing finished plastic goods for sale in Nigeria and across West and Central Africa.
At the signing ceremony at the Afreximbank Headquarters in Cairo, Dr. Benedict Oramah, the Bank’s Executive Vice President in charge of Business Development and Corporate Banking, said that the transaction was a landmark as it reflected Afreximbank’s commitment to supporting indigenous manufacturing efforts across Africa.
It also demonstrated Afreximbank’s continued support to Nigeria, a major shareholder, in the belief that a stronger Nigeria would contribute to a stronger Africa, said Dr. Oramah, who noted that Afreximbank disburses more than one billion dollars annually to the Nigerian private sector in order to deepen and broaden the manufacturing base.
Responding, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, Executive Chairman of ITIC, said that the Afreximbank facility would position the Innoson Group to achieve its determination to be a key part of Nigeria’s future.
In addition to ITIC, the Group operates the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company, which currently produces 300 vehicles a month. It plans to raise the output to 600 vehicles per month by the middle of 2014.
“We are determined to do more and to achieve more, as we look forward to even greater strides in the Nigerian economy,” said Chief Chukwuma. “We see Afreximbank not just as a lender but as a development partner”.
(R-L) Dr. Benedict Oramah, Afreximbank Executive Vice President (BDCB), Chief Innocent Chukwuma, Executive Chairman, Innoson Technical and Industrial Company Ltd., and Denys Denya, Afreximbank Executive Vice President (FABS), after the signing ceremony.
The teams from Afreximbank and Innoson Technical and Industrial Company Ltd. in a group photo following the signing ceremony.