Bank Windhoek, in partnership with four financial institutions, reached a milestone when they collaborated and financed one of the largest commercial transactions to date, aimed at boosting marine diamond recovery operations in Namibian coastal waters.
The transaction, which involves the financing of a new diamond recovery vessel for Debmarine Namibia, was announced on Wednesday, 19 June 2019 in Windhoek.
In line with Debmarine Namibia's strategy to expand marine diamond recovery operations in Namibia, the state-of-the-art semi-submersible multirole vessel will be the world's largest diamond recovery vessel and is set to further enhance Debmarine Namibia's ability to recover diamonds off Namibia's Atlantic coastline.
The N$5.6 billion asset financing facility constitutes 80 percent of the vessel cost and will be financed by Bank Windhoek and other four banks, while Debmarine Namibia will cover the remaining 20 percent which is N$1.4 billion of the investment.
Bank Windhoek's Executive Officer for Corporate and Institutional Banking, Lukas Nanyemba said: “It is an honour to be part of the lending consortium that realised the birth of the Alternative Mining Vessel 3. As a catalyst of sustainable opportunities, Bank Windhoek believes that capital investment projects of this nature enables progress and growth - not just in key sectors but also in the economy as a whole."
Nanyemba added that as a collective, the banking sector has once again shown that, together they can play a meaningful role in ensuring growth and expansion of industries that will ultimately culminate in Namibia's economic advancement.
“Congratulations to Debmarine Namibia for this milestone achievement and thank you for providing Bank Windhoek, a home-grown Namibian bank, with an opportunity of being a part of it," concluded Nanyemba.
According to a recent publication by the Bank of Namibia, diamond recovery contributed 13.7 percent to real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and the sector provides more than 50 percent of foreign exchange earnings. Under the fifth National Development Plan (NDP5), the recovery sector's contribution to GDP is targeted to reach 15.2 percent by 2022. The vessel is currently being constructed in Romania and is scheduled to commence operations in 2022.
