MUFG has extended a US$150mn samurai loan to multilateral development finance institution the Eastern and Southern African Trade & Development Bank (TDB).

MUFG is the sole coordinator, bookrunner, mandated lead arranger (MLA), documentation agent and facility agent on the deal.

A spokesperson for the Japanese lender tells GTR the facility will be used by TDB for refinancing and general corporate purposes.

“The transaction further bolsters MUFG’s continued efforts to utilise an extensive global network, including in Japan, to increase access to Japanese liquidity for African borrowers,” the bank says in a statement.

Ankit Khandelwal, MUFG’s director of Africa coverage, says the bank is “committed to supporting clients such as TDB with navigating Japanese liquidity with confidence, and hopes to continue building on this success in the future”.

MUFG has previously acted as an MLA in a US$450mn term loan extended by mainly Middle Eastern banks to TDB in 2017, and a term loan of similar value signed in November 2018.

The lender also took part in a €334.4mn loan to TDB in July 2020, aimed at mobilising funding for food and medical supplies in Eastern and Southern Africa during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We are pleased with our continued partnership with MUFG, and value the growth in appetite of Japanese investors for TDB opportunities,” says Abraham Byanyima, TDB group treasury executive. “Seeking diversity in our funding sources is very important for TDB, to ensure that we maintain resilience in the fast-changing global economic scene.”