Post MetBank investment
Funding upped to us$300 million
By Kudakwashe Mutandi
MAURITIAN-BASED financial firm Loita Capital Partner International, which acquired a 60 percent stake in Metropolitan Bank of Zimbabwe (MetBank) in May this year is set to increase its funding for forex financed business from US$25 million this year to US$300 million next year.
MetBank Chairman Mr Wilson Manase said Loita has taken a very long-term view to doing business in Zimbabwe.
“Having successfully structure big deal in war-tone countries like Sudan, the economic and political situation will not perturb Loita at all. The bank’s future looks brighter in the light of the concluded Loita equity deal,” said the MedBank chairman.
Said Mr Manase; “it is therefore beyond doubt that Loita will bring to Metropolitan Bank proven experience in corporate and international banking that will certainly enable the bank to deliver a new wave of products to our customers.”
He added that the board has since been restructured following the acquisition and he was retained as chairman.
“The board of directors was recently restructured with the dictates of good corporate governance practices,” he added.
Meanwhile, MetBank is set to open seven new branches next year as it seeks to consolidate its presence in the financial services landscape.
Presently the bank’s national –wide branch network stands at eight.
Mat-Bank chief executive Mr Virgil Jakachira told the Sunday Mail Business that the bank would open two more branches in the capital while the other five would be opened in other towns.
“We are planning to have two more branches in Harare early next year while the other five would be opened in various towns around the country,” said Mr Jakachira.
He also revealed that the bank would embark on a rebranding exercise in a bid to incorporate its new major shareholder Loita Capital Finance International.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) in May this year approved the acquisition of 60 percent stake in Metropolitan Bank by Loita, a marriage that will see the latter in a position to structure off-shore credit facilities given its extensive continental presence. Loita has existence in South Africa, Zambia, Tunisia, Malawi, Ivory Coast and Tanzania. It is on this back-drop that the strategic alliance is set to put Metbank on a better financial footing making it competitive not only locally but regionally.
Over the years, companies from the Far East and Asia have been increasing their investments into the country, taping from immense potential that is inherent on the local market.
International lines of credit have been discontinued by Western financiers from 1999 as a result of huge differences, particularly occasioned by the country’s land reform programme.