DP World has extended its long-standing partnership with leading pan-African bank, Standard Bank, by concluding a US$365.1 million facility agreement to support its logistics and market access expansion across the sub-Saharan (SSA) region.
The facility offers DP World’s SSA logistics and market access businesses access to a multi-product, multi-jurisdiction, and multi-currency facility. This solution has been designed to be all encompassing in solutioning for DP World’s general banking and term-funding requirements, as well as its logistics and market access operations – available across all SSA markets where DP World and Standard Bank have an overlapping presence.
“We are confident that this facility, which is regarded as market leading on the African continent, will be a game-changer for our logistics and market access growth ambitions in SSA”, says Mohammed Akoojee, CEO & MD for SSA at DP World. “We have once again chosen to partner with Standard Bank – a proudly African brand – due to the Bank’s ability to provide seamless access to liquidity and financing solutions across the continent, which aligns with DP World’s ambition of achieving the efficient and sustainable movement of products across the region.”
DP World has a long-standing relationship with Standard Bank. In May this year, DP World announced its trade finance partnership with Standard Bank, which aims to help in closing the gap in unmet demand for working capital on the continent by providing African companies that are looking for trade finance with the ability to seamlessly access working capital from Standard Bank via the DP World Trade Finance platform.
Says Kenny Fihla, CEO, CIB Standard Bank: “We are proud to be the coordinators and lenders of this market-leading facility, which demonstrates our commitment and our strength in Africa. The MCF facility is split between our transactional banking and investment banking products, with US$150 million allocated to a general banking MCF, which will consist of working capital, trade finance, documentary credit and other general banking solutions and US$215.1 million allocated to term debt financing.”
DP World’s vision is to make the world’s trade flow better and this next step in the partnership with Standard Bank is testament to that goal. Africa is a key market for DP World, with this partnership complementing its ongoing investment and development across the continent.