RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco’s Attijariwafa Bank said on Friday it had agreed with State-owned Export-Import Bank of China (ExIm) to set up a 5 billion dollar fund to promote African exports to China and industrial zones on the continent.
The fund, to be financed by China’s ExIm, will invest in the African countries where Attijariwafa Bank operates, the Moroccan bank said in a statement.
Besides Morocco, Attijariwafa Bank operates in 25 countries including 14 in Africa and has about 20,000 employees.
The deal was signed in Shanghai on the sidelines of China’s International Import Exposition, the statement said.
Attijariwafa Bank reported a 4.9% year-on-year rise in its 2019 first half net profit attributable to shareholders to 2.9 billion dirhams ($303 million). Last year, the bank’s net profit stood at 5.7 billion dirhams.
