Exim Bank happy with Uganda deal

Dar es Salaam. Just one day after the Bank of Uganda (BoU) handed over the former Imperial Bank to Exim Bank Tanzania, the management of the Tanzanian outfit came out yesterday and termed the deal as a “strategy, smart move”.

Exim becomes the first commercial bank from Tanzania to make a presence in East Africa’s third largest economy.

“We carried out a rigorous due diligence and decided to acquire a majority stake in the erstwhile Imperial Bank Uganda Ltd……our partner is one of the largest business groups in the that country…. there could not have been a better time to make an entry into Uganda than through such an alliance,” the Exim Bank chief finance officer, Mr Selemani Ponda, said yesterday. Exim Bank, which manages a branch network of 37 in Tanzania as well as subsidiaries in Djibouti and the Comoros, has acquired 58.6 per cent stake in Imperial Bank Uganda. This necessitates a change in the name and the bank will now be called ‘Exim Bank Uganda Ltd.

What two other shareholders have

Amazal Holdings, a subsidiary of Mukwano Group which has successfully diversified its business interests within and outside Uganda, will hold a 36.5 per cent stake while the remaining 4.9 per cent will be held by Export Finance Ltd.

Exim Bank Tanzania started its operations in the country 19 years ago, with a single branch in Dar es Salaam. It had total assets in the region of Sh1.250 trillion ($580 million) as on December 31, 2015, with shareholders’ funds reaching $90 million.

Exim Bank Uganda shall have the privilege of making a strong beginning with a set of 5 well-established branches in Kampala with an asset base of nearly $100 million. With over 100 employees, Exim Bank Uganda offers full suite of banking solutions.