Nedbank Capital provides facility to Transnet

The financing will support Transnet's purchase of 47 diesel locomotives from General Electric South Africa Technologies (Pty) Ltd‚ a subsidiary of the US-based General Electric Company.

"We are extremely proud to have successfully concluded this important transaction. The locomotives form part of Transnet's Market Demand Strategy (MDS) which is aimed at investing about R300 billion over the next seven years with most of the locomotives being built in South Africa‚ thus enabling economic growth‚ skills development and job creation‚" says Philna Potgieter‚ Head of Export Credit Finance at Nedbank Capital.

As locomotive kits for the C30-ACi locomotives are being imported from the United States with final assembly performed in South Africa‚ Nedbank Capital's loan to Transnet will be 100% guaranteed by the Export Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank)‚ an independent US federal government agency.

"Financing U.S. exports to sub-Saharan Africa is a priority for Ex-Im Bank‚ and we are delighted to have concluded this transaction‚" said Ex-Im Bank chairman and president Fred P. Hochberg. "We have dramatically increased our activity in sub-Saharan Africa. In the first nine months of fiscal year 2012‚ we authorized a historic high level of financing - US$1.5 billion - supporting U.S. exports to this region. This financing already exceeds the previous record of US$1.4 billion that the Bank set for the entire fiscal year in 2011."

Ex-Im Bank is the official export-credit agency of the United States. The independent federal government agency helps to create and maintain U.S. jobs by financing the sales of U.S. exports‚ primarily to emerging markets throughout the world‚ providing loan guarantees‚ export-credit insurance and direct loans. Ex-Im Bank's products and initiatives help U.S. exporters in all regions of Africa‚ including higher-risk and emerging markets.