“We are pleased to partner with AfrAsia Bank and have the opportunity to use our expertise and resources to contribute to its development,” said Louis Vachon, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Bank of Canada. “This investment will be the first by National Bank of Canada in Africa. We believe its fast-growing and emerging economies offer attractive market opportunities.”
The investment also represents a major vote of confidence in AfrAsia’s business model, financial standing and unique positioning in
regional and international markets, which have also been validated by other investors such as the Singaporean private equity firm, Intrasia Capital and French partner PROPARCO.
The bank’s growth plans and strategic vision is led by the founder shareholder GML, a Mauritian conglomerate.
“Since inception, AfrAsia Bank’s vision has been to bring change and innovation to Mauritius banking, and to grow regionally as well as internationally. Over the past seven years, we have been consolidating our presence locally while reinforcing our footprint through our representative offices in South Africa and in London, and our associate company in Zimbabwe,” said Arnaud Lagesse, Chairman of AfrAsia Bank.
“With numerous representative offices, subsidiaries and partnerships, through which it can serve clients in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world, National Bank of Canada is a valuable shareholder that can further help with US connections as well as relations with European markets.”
AfrAsia Bank’s total assets at the end of June 2014 were recorded at $1.56 billion. By offering tailor-made and innovative banking and investment solutions, with expertise in the local and international financial sectors, AfrAsia Bank aims to grow from having clients in 104 countries to becoming one of the biggest players in Africa and expanding in European as well as American markets.
“We have continuously invested in developing our bank to become a significant player in the region, Africa as well as internationally. We are honoured to partner with such a renowned financial institution as National Bank of Canada. This partnership will give us an impetus for further growth and reinforce the position of AfrAsia Bank in international markets,” said James Benoit, CEO of AfrAsia Bank.
He added that regardless of prevailing market conditions and challenges, the bank’s strong performance has been truly encouraging. This, he said has attracted world-class shareholders.
“With National Bank of Canada, we will continue to deliver on our corporate philosophy to build bridges between Africa, Asia and the rest of the world while using Mauritius as an International financial centre,” Benoit said.
Also commenting on the deal, Karen Leggett, Executive Vice-President – Marketing and Corporate Strategy at National Bank of Canada described AfrAsia Bank’s business model, broad diversification of activities and growth potential as the key assets that encouraged NBC to invest in the bank.
“Growing trade between Africa and the rest of the world, notably Asia, is fuelling investments across the African continent and AfrAsia Bank is well positioned to benefit from this trend. We look forward to being a part of its future,” Leggett added.
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