The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, known more commonly as TDB, and previously PTA Bank, is a specialised African regional financial institution established in 1985 that provides short, medium and long-term financing across a wide set of sectors, both private- and public-sector clients, on sustainable and commercial principles.
The Bank’s mission is to finance and foster trade, socio-economic development and regional economic integration through trade and development finance, funds management as well as consulting and agency services. It has a financial arm of the integration arrangement of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
The Bank membership comprises eighteen member states, seventeen of which are COMESA members. China was the first non-regional member state to join the Bank in 2000. The African Development Bank (AfDB) is the sole institutional shareholder. Both China and the AfDB each have a 12.3% shareholding in the Bank. As of May 2009, the following countries and institutions are shareholders in the PTA Bank: AfDB, Burundi, Comoros, China, Djibouti, DRC, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
The Bank is based in Bujumbura and has a branch in Nairobi and Harare.
The Bank provides various types of credit and guarantees, such as letters of credit, trade loans, and term loans, including agency-backed loans, in various development sectors, with a preference, where feasible, for transactions that have high levels of development impact and positive cross-border effects, including transactions that enhance the connectivity and complementarity of Member States. Equity financing is considered very selectively on a case-by-case basis. Other services provided include funds/asset management, consulting and agency services.
The scope of intervention is diverse and cuts across a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, infrastructure, industry and trade. We employ either one or a combination of the following modes of financing:
- Long-Term Project Finance
- Corporate Finance
- Lease Finance
- Syndication
- Debt Mezzanine Finance
- Line of Credit
- Guarantees
With regard to lines of credit, the Bank has long-standing relationships with a diverse group of lenders such as commercial banks, development finance institutions and export credit agencies, among others, through which it accesses short and long-term funds.
With regard to capital market activities, in issuing local currency bonds, the Bank’s motivation has been to broaden its resource base, deepen the sub-region’s developing financial markets and assist its clientele in mitigating foreign currency risks by funding loans in local currency.
The proceeds from the bonds and notes are invested in the respective countries of issuance. All the bonds so far issued have been listed on their respective Stock Exchanges, thereby enhancing their liquidity attributes.
The Bank has successfully issued local currency bonds in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. TDB Bank has a successful track record of issuing local currency bonds within Africa and other international markets. For investment opportunities in these bonds, contact the respective placing agents using the information below. Also, the table below provides highlights of TDB Bank’s capital market activities.
The main portfolio distribution per sector in 2016 goes to the transport sector (28%), the manufacturing sector (27%) and agro-business (10%) and per country went in 2016 into Rwanda (30%), Zimbabwe (20%) and Uganda (10%).
In 2012, Fitch Ratings revised the Bank’s outlook from stable to positive and, in 2013, upgraded the international long-term rating from BB- to BB with a stable outlook. The upgrade by Fitch Ratings was preceded by GCR’s upgrade in 2012 from BB to BB+.
Alexander Herring
Vice President CBL-ACP
PSLO World Bank Group
Source: www.tdbgroup.org
