Kampala — A top bank official said recently that Ugandan banks have both the financial and requisite experience to participate in the financing of the ongoing petroleum development.

While commenting in Kampala about a deal in which United Bank for Africa (UBA) joined hands with Stanbic IBTC to raise $70 million for financing a Nigerian gas pipeline, Ms Margaret Mwanakatwe, the UBA managing director said: "Giving banks in Uganda an opportunity to participate in petroleum development , would strengthen their capability and technical competence to undertake even bigger projects not only in oil but also infrastructure development.

She said over the last decade, financial institutions have proved their capacity to support infrastructure development in terms of financing and technical support. She cited the recently concluded syndicated $100 milliom (Shs225 billion) facility for MTN Uganda, that was raised by a consortium of Ugandan banks including UBA, Stanbic, Barclays and Standard Chartered Bank among others as proof of their competence and ability.