NMB pledges financial support to investors in Tanzania’s energy sector

NMB Bank Plc has re-affirmed its commitment to continue financing investors in Tanzania’s energy sector value chain as part of its commitment to compliment Government efforts and support to growth of the sector.

Speaking during on topic dubbed ”The importance of accessing finance and a fair regulatory regime” during  the Tanzania Energy Conference held in Dar es Salaam recently, Alfred Shao the NMB Chief Wholesaler Banking said the bank has a number finance options to support potential investors in the energy sector both upstream and downstream.

Shao said the bank being a certified investment advisor also offers advisory services to clients and also sometimes helps to raise equity for potential companies.

“We understand that the energy sector is a capital intensive sector. As a bank we will be financing the energy sector because we have a strong balance sheet and our single borrower unit is now over 310 bln/- to a single borrower,” he said.

He said the bank has also built good partnerships and collaborates with international financers such as the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) among others who are interested in green bonds.

“We successfully issued the NMB Jasiri bond which was oversubscribed and we are looking forward to issuing a green bond targeting the renewable energy sector,” he said.

On his part, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Investment Exaud Kigahe during the event said the Government looks forward to harnessing untapped areas especially   in renewable energy and reiterated Government’s commitment to continue working with the private sector.

He said the Government has already embarked on a roadmap to increase the ease of doing business in Tanzania reiterating Government’s commitment to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy amongst its institutions.

“Currently our ranking in the aspect of doing business is not good. We have taken major strides to create a conducive business environment as part of our efforts to attract more investors in the country and improve the country’s competitiveness,” he stressed.