17 March 2008
Stanbic Bank Botswana said on Friday that it has been selected as a preferred financial partner for funding of the initial expansion of the Morupule Colliery.
This means the bank is tasked with providing bridging finance for the expansion, the bank said through its PR agency, Hotwire. The deal is worth over P100 million and is one of the biggest financing transactions in the history of Stanbic Bank Botswana.
"This is an overwhelming vote of confidence for our people, products and services and it is a clear demonstration of our commitment to support Botswana's future growth," says Dennis Kennedy, Stanbic Bank Botswana's managing director.
"We worked tirelessly for two years now to position Stanbic Bank Botswana corporate investment banking as the intellectual capital of banking in Botswana. Securing this deal is proof of our efforts in this regard," added Tasha Ferreira the bank's executive director, corporate and investment banking.
Stanbic Bank Botswana was selected as the preferred partner from submissions made by all major banks operating in Botswana.
The expansion of the Morupule Power Station is a major step forward to meeting the increasing demand for power supply in Botswana.
Stanbic was recently awarded the advisory mandate in the floating of a government bond. Its parent company, Standard Bank Group, has received a multi-billion equity deal from Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).
On Friday Stanbic was expected to help list a government bond, but the event was postponed to sometime this week when stakeholders including government officials and Bank of Botswana officials will be available.
The listing will form part of the commitment that Finance Minister Baledzi Gaolathe made last month during the budget speech that government will revive the debt market by offering to float P5 billion worth of bonds in the market.
Meanwhile, the choosing of preferred financier for Morupule will be well received in the market at a time when companies are concerned about repeated power failure, which they say will affect their margins.
A Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) Generation Expansion Feasibility Study for 2003 says the expansion will comprise 6 x 100 mw being installed in progressive stages - 400 mw in 2009-2010, 100 mw in 2018 and 100 mw by 2023.
Two companies, including a Chinese firm with a reputation for delivering projects on time, have been short-listed for the project.
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