Ecobank, the leading pan African bank and ICICI Bank of India today signed and MOU to promote and facilitate trade and investments between India and Africa.
The agreement was signed by Mr Arnold Ekpe, the outgoing Chief Executive of the Ecobank Group, and ICICI Bank's President for International Banking and Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr Vijay Chandok. ICICI is the largest private bank in India.
Under the MOU, ICICI Bank and Ecobank will co-operate to create a One Bank experience for their respective customers doing business in Africa and India. The focus will be on the day-to day banking and investment requirements of their customers such as trade finance, payments and remittances and also on major projects when these arise.
India's trade with Africa has doubled in the past four years to over USD 50 billion in 2010–11. Stronger investment ties are complementing this steady growth in trade, with Indian investments in Africa across a range of sectors, including oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, fertilizers, IT and infrastructure, reaching USD 33 billion in 2011.
Commenting on the agreement, Mr Arnold Ekpe, said:
"We see tremendous potential in establishing an alliance for trade and investment between India and the 32 African countries that constitute our footprint in Africa. We look forward to working closely with ICICI Bank to promote and facilitate the growing trade and investment flows between Africa and the Indian sub-continent."
About ICICI Bank: ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE:IBN) is India's largest private sector bank and the second largest bank in India, with consolidated total assets of US $ 111 billion as on June 30, 2012. ICICI Bank's subsidiaries include India's leading private sector insurance companies and among its largest securities brokerage firms, mutual funds and private equity firms. ICICI Bank's global presence currently spans across 19 countries, including India. www.icicibank.com.
About Ecobank: Incorporated in Lome, Togo, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated is the parent company of the leading independent pan-African banking group. It currently has a presence in 32 African countries, namely: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Democratic Republic), Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
The Group is also represented in France through its affiliate EBI S.A. in Paris. ETI also has representative office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and London, UK. ETI is listed on the stock exchanges in Lagos, Accra and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) – the BRVM in Abidjan. The Group is owned by more than 600,000 local and international institutional and individual shareholders. The Group has 18,375 employees in 35 countries and 1,206 branches and offices.
Ecobank is a full-service bank providing wholesale, retail, investment and transaction banking services and products to governments, financial institutions, multinationals, international organizations, medium, small and micro businesses and individuals. Additional information may be found at www.ecobank.com.
