President Idriss Deby Itno of Chad, on December 30, 2016, ratified the Agreement on the Establishment of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), concluding the formalisation of the country’s membership of the continental trade finance bank.

An official message from Ngabo Seli Mbogo, Minister of Finance and Budget of Chad, transmitting the instrument of ratification to Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, showed that the ratification followed an Act of Parliament passed by the National Assembly during its session on December 23, which authorised the President to ratify the Agreement.

The National Assembly also provided that the Act on the ratification should be recorded as a national law of the country.

The ratification of the Agreement marks the full activation of Chad’s membership of Afreximbank and allows the Bank to fully deploy its programmes and facilities in the country in order to stimulate trade activities and develop value-added exports across its economic sectors. It also opens up opportunities for the Bank to provide much-needed financing for the construction of trade-enabling infrastructure in the country.

The Agreement on the Establishment of Afreximbank, concluded in 1993 in Abidjan, requires that countries that did not sign it before its entry into force, should first issue an instrument of acceptance and accession and then formally ratify the Agreement in order to fully activate their membership of the Bank as Participating States.

Participating States become shareholders when they acquire shares in the Bank. Afreximbank shareholders are a mix of public and private entities divided into four classes and consist of African governments, central banks, regional and sub-regional institutions, private investors and financial institutions, as well as non-African financial institutions, export credit agencies and private investors.

Class “A” shareholders are African states, African central banks and African public institutions, including the African Development Bank, while Class “B” is made up of African financial institutions and African private investors.

Class “C” shares are held by non-African investors, mostly international banks and export credit agencies, including Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, Citibank, China Exim Bank and Exim India. Class “D” shares, a tier approved in December 2012, are fully paid par value shares that can be held by any investor.