UAE Edition 
Egypt Edition 
Saudi Edition 
MENA <> India Corridor 
Logistics (MENA) 
Climate (MENA) 
Share
Read Full Issue 
Afreximbank backs new Dubai-based trade house: Top traders from oil giant Shell group are set to to launch a Dubai-based Africa-focused trading house — dubbed Africa Trading Minerals (Atmin) — in a move backed by African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank), two trading sources familiar with the transaction told Reuters.
What we know: Dubai-based Atmin — set to hire 15 employees to run its operations — will begin by focusing on crude and then expand into other oil products and minerals. Afreximbank will operate as Atmin’s controlling shareholder, sources said, while employees will retain around 15% of the company. The exact investment figure Afreximbank is plugging into the venture was not disclosed by the bank.
What they said: “Afreximbank-affiliated trading entity Atmin will… participate actively in the trading and financing activities of the leading African oil trading companies with long-term relationships with Afreximbank who are also expected to support this effort,” the bank noted.
Who’s behind the venture? The trade house will be headed by Shell’s 17-year veteran Ajay Oommen (LinkedIn), who headed the firm’s low sulphur crude desk, a department which oversaw the trade of some 1.5 mn barrels per day of oil, the sources said. It will also include Vikram Thakur (LinkedIn), who headed business development at Shell and spent 18 years at the firm. It will also tap Joseph Kanaan (LinkedIn) — who brings his 11 years of experience as a trader at Shell.
The bank’s push into African oil trade: Afreximbank just launched a USD 3 bn revolving intra-African oil trade financing program to support the purchase of refined petroleum products by African and Caribbean oil buyers, the bank noted in a statement. The figure is earmarked to provide trade finance to oil traders, banks, and governments. Africa spends some USD 30 bn annually on fuel imports — and Afreximbank’s revolving facility is forecasted to fund some USD 10 bn to USD 14 bn in Intra-African petroleum imports.
In context: The continent is witnessing a drop in oil and gas production due to under-investment, as Western banks and major oil players shy away from Africa. That said, the continent’s bns of oil and gas barrels are at risk of sitting idle, as global producers sprint to extract as many resources as possible in the wake of the energy transition capping demand for fossil fuels.
