Actis Group this morning relinquished its interest in Banque Commerciale du Rwanda (BCR) to Kenyan based regional bank I&M Bank Limited, and French and German development finance institutions, Proparco and DEG.

The during the function to announce the transaction, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, John Rwangombwa heralded the sale of the country's second largest bank as a privatisation success story for Africa.

BCR has been named 'Best Bank in Rwanda' by Global Finance Magazine for the last five years.

Actis acquired an 80 percent interest in BCR in a 2004 privatisation deal, with the remaining 20 shareholding retained by Government.

"The successful equity exit of Actis reflects the investment opportunities that the Rwandan Government has helped foster. The privatisation of BCR in 2004 through a private equity investment was the first of its type in the Rwanda banking sector and has been highly successful," said Rwangombwa.

He added: "I take this opportunity to welcome the new investors I&M Bank Limited, Proparco and DEG. This new sale is a testament to the attractiveness of Rwanda as an investment destination. Rwanda is committed to creating a financial sector that is inclusive and accessible to allow Rwandans to take advantages of all its services."

Actis made its investment in BCR from two funds, Actis Africa Fund 2 and The Canada Investment Fund for Africa; thereby enabling BCR to benefit from both the investment of British government capital via CDC, and Canadian government capital managed by Cordiant.