Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On May 22, 2014, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the People's Bank of China (PBOC) signed an agreement for the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF) (see Umbrella Record ID#36104). The purpose of this $2 billion loan facility was to finance large development projects in Africa between 2014 and 2024. The AGTF is sponsored by the PBOC and the administered by AfDB. Then, on July 30, 2022, AGTF signed an $7 million loan agreement (ID#5050130000453) with Corporate Leasing Company (Corplease) to support its lease financing activities. On the same day, the African Development Bank (AfDB) issued a $15 million senior loan (ID#2000130021091) to Corplease for the same purpose. The borrowing terms of these loans included a 7-year maturity, a 2-year grace period, and an unknown interest rate. The purpose of the project is to expand the leasing financing activities of Corplease for local corporates, including small- and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs), in Egypt. Upon completion, the project is expect to expand Corplease’s footprint in the local market, increase its competitive advantage by elongating the tenor of its financial services and lowering its cost of fund, and will target the most vital sectors in Egypt.
Staff comments
1. The AfDB project identification number is P-EG-H00-005. 2. Corplease is a private joint stock company incorporated in December 2003 by Commercial International Bank (CIB) Egypt, DEG (Germany) and Union de Banques Arabes et Françaises. Since establishment, Corplease has become the top leasing company in Egypt with more than 30% market share. It offers diverse leasing products and services to a wide range of SMEs and larger corporates, through direct leasing, sale and lease back, and structured finance products. Corplease services are provided to a variety of sectors such as agriculture, industrial, manufacturing, real estate, and services, with a wide pool of assets, which includes equipment financing, plant and machinery, transportation assets, systems & IT, and office equipment. Corplease is owned by renowned shareholders namely CI Capital (87.4%), a leading publicly listed investment bank, and Mr. Tarek Azmy, the Managing Director of the company (12.6%). The majority shareholder, CI Capital is a leading diversified financial services group that offers a suite of non-bank financial solutions including investment banking, securities brokerage, research, asset management, custody, leasing, and microfinance. CI Capital is listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of EGP 4.2 billion ($226 million) and has approximately 3,000 employees across the group with an overall lending portfolio that exceeds EGP 12 billion ($646 million).