South African Deputy President Mr. David Mabuza pays courtesy visit to NDB

South African Deputy President Mr. David Mabuza led a high level delegation on a visit to the New Development Bank (NDB) headquarters in Shanghai, China on November 01, 2019. Deputy President Mabuza was welcomed by NDB Vice President & CFO Mr. Leslie Maasdorp and met with NDB President Mr. K.V. Kamath, to discuss issues including the Bank’s projects in South Africa.

Deputy President Mabuza had a one on one meeting with Mr. Kamath, followed by a high level meeting with the Bank’s Vice-Presidents, and the South African delegation.

“The coming into full operation of the bank and the growth of the portfolio of projects that it funds is encouraging. It is living up to the vision that the leaders of the BRICS member countries of ensuring that inclusive growth and development is realised as part of the South South Cooperation,” said Deputy President Mabuza.

Deputy President Mabuza implored the leadership of the Bank to be resolute in execution of its mandate and to build a lasting institution. For this to be achieved, the Bank would require long term planning and discipline in implementation. He further called on the bank to continue on its drive for diversification of its staff, including gender inclusivity and in bringing on board of young talent to its ranks.

Addressing the event, Mr. Kamath made reference to the Bank’s regional office in Johannesburg, which was opened for business in 2017. “The Africa Regional Centre is fully operational, and it has helped the NDB make progress in South Africa. Our regional office undertakes a growing range of work, beginning with project identification and preparation,” stated Mr. Kamath.

He indicated that the opening of a regional center makes a difference, as seen in South Africa, and that the Bank would use learnings from ARC in other member countries of the NDB.

Mr. Kamath stated the Bank has a very strong pipeline of projects from South Africa. Currently, the Bank’s portfolio of approved projects from South Africa has 7 projects with loans aggregating to the equivalent of USD 1.9 bln, namely:

• 4 projects with USD-denominated loans aggregating to USD 1.16 bln
• 3 projects with ZAR-denominated loans aggregating to ZAR 11.35 bln

In April 2019, the NDB hosted its 4^th Annual Meeting in Cape Town South Africa where the Bank announced it would be ramping up operations in South Africa and strengthening its project pipeline in the country. The Bank is fully committed to bridging the infrastructure gap in South Africa, supporting projects tailored to the country’s needs and fully respecting its development priorities and strategies.

South African projects approved in 2019 are:

• South African National Toll Roads Strengthening and Improvement Programme (ZAR 7 billion)
• Environmental Protection Project for Medupi Thermal Power Plant (USD 480 million loan to Eskom);
• Renewable Energy Sector Development Project (proceeds of the Bank’s ZAR 1.150 billion, approx. USD 80 mln, loan will be on-lent by Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa); and
• Lesotho Highlands Water Project (NDB will provide a project loan of ZAR 3.2 billion (approx. USD 220 mln) to Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, for the implementation of Phase II of Lesotho Highlands Water Project and financing the construction of water transfer infrastructure to the benefit of South Africa.

The high level South African delegation included Ms. C. Mashego-Dlamini, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation; Ms. M. Sotyu, Deputy Minister Environment, Forestry and Fisheries; Mr. F. Majola, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry; Ambassador A. Sooklal, Deputy Director-General: Asia and Middle East, and Mr. Paul Mashatile, the Treasurer-General of the governing party.

The Deputy President also had an opportunity to meet with the Bank’s South African staff.

Background Information

The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development. To fulfill its purpose, the NDB will support public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments. According to the NDB’s General Strategy, sustainable infrastructure development is at the core of the Bank’s operational strategy for 2017-2021. The NDB received AA+ long-term issuer credit ratings from S&P and Fitch and AAA foreign currency long-term issuer rating from Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR).