Afreximbank disbursed US$975 million to part-finance the management buyout of Oryx Energies, putting the Addax Energy parent under majority African ownership. The Black Executive Journal — Daily Edition
The African Export-Import Bank has disbursed a US$975 million facility to part-finance the management buyout of Oryx Energies SA, the holding company of Addax Energy SA.
Afreximbank says the deal brings "one of the largest and longest-established independent providers of energy products and services in Africa under majority African ownership for the first time" (Afreximbank — Oct 28, 2026).
Afreximbank carried the whole financing itself. It acted as sole lender, facility agent, security trustee and escrow agent, so no syndicate of international banks was involved. The bank said the facility builds on its wider energy portfolio, which includes investments in upstream production and refining capacity (Afreximbank — Oct 28, 2026).
Chief executive Moussa Diao leads the buying team.
He described the deal as a reflection of "the strength of experienced African leadership and its ability to guide established businesses towards new opportunities," and said the company would strengthen "our activities in energy trading and infrastructure development across Africa."
Diao added that the transaction "would not have been possible without the confidence and support of Afreximbank" (Afreximbank — Oct 28, 2026).
Afreximbank President Dr George Elombi said the bank had "secured a strategic platform to deepen Africa's energy industrial ecosystem" through the buyout of Oryx's trading and distribution business.
He said the deal would "promote greater African ownership and participation in development by empowering local entrepreneurs, expanding local value creation, building capacity, creating jobs and retaining more economic value on the continent" (Afreximbank — Oct 28, 2026).
The financing comes from a balance sheet Afreximbank reported two days earlier at US$54.1 billion in assets and contingencies, with a 22% capital adequacy ratio (Afreximbank — Oct 26, 2026).
The bank holds investment-grade ratings from Moody's (Baa2), S&P Global Ratings (BBB+), GCR (A), JCR (A-) and CCXI (AAA) (Afreximbank — Oct 28, 2026).
Ownership of fuel and LPG distribution in Africa has long sat with European trading houses and international majors. A management team led by Africans buying a pan-African distributor with one African lender's money shows that buyouts of this size can be financed on the continent.
Founders and executives running divisions of foreign-owned African businesses now have a precedent to show their boards.
Energy importers and distributors should expect a more assertive African-owned competitor in trading and storage, at a time when the World Bank projects energy prices up 32% this year.
The World Bank's latest Commodity Markets Outlook projects overall commodity prices up 23% in 2026, then down 7% in 2027. It forecasts energy prices up 32%, ending three years of declines, as the Middle East conflict draws down oil inventories.
Brent is forecast to average $91 a barrel in 2026, against $69 in 2025, before easing to $79 in 2027 (World Bank — Oct 28, 2026).
Food prices are forecast to rise about 10% in 2026 and another 7% in 2027, an 18% cumulative increase driven by disrupted grain shipments, El Niño and costly fuel and fertilizer.
Fertilizer prices rise 14% in 2026. Metals hit a new high, rising 25% as aluminium, copper and tin reach records, and precious metals rise 40%. Global oil supply is projected to fall 5.2%, the largest drop in more than four decades outside 2020, while consumption falls 2.5% (World Bank — Oct 28, 2026).
The downside case is more severe.
If the conflict escalates, Black Sea grain shipments are attacked and El Niño proves very strong, Brent could average $105 in 2027 and food prices could run 12% above the baseline, higher than their 2022 level. "Commodity markets are being hit by several major shocks at once," said Ayhan Kose, the World Bank's Deputy Chief Economist.
The Bank Group said it has made $50 billion to $60 billion available through existing instruments, including $25 billion in pre-arranged financing (World Bank — Oct 28, 2026).
The forecast splits Africa and the Caribbean into winners and losers. Exporters of copper, gold and oil, from Zambia and the DRC to Ghana and Guyana, gain on the terms of trade.
Fuel- and food-importing economies, including most of the Caribbean and East Africa, face wider import bills and renewed inflation.
Treasurers should stress-test their 2027 budgets at $105 Brent, and companies with grain or fertilizer exposure should hedge before the 2027 planting season.
The Bank of Canada raised its target for the overnight rate by 25 basis points to 2.5%, putting the Bank Rate at 2.75% and the deposit rate at 2.45%. Governing Council said it moved "to reduce the risk that continuing high energy prices spread broadly to the prices of other goods and services" (Bank of Canada — Oct 28, 2026).
CPI inflation has run around 3% since April and is expected to reach about 3½% by year-end. Excluding gasoline, inflation was 2.2% in September.
The Bank now expects inflation to average 3% in 2027, a percentage point above its July projection, and to return to 2% by mid-2028. It noted that surveys point to more cost pass-through by businesses over the next year (Bank of Canada — Oct 28, 2026).
Growth projections improved. Canadian GDP grew 3.3% in the second quarter and about 2% in the third, and the economy is forecast to grow 1% in 2026 and 2% in 2027 and 2028. The Bank raised its global growth estimate to 3.1% for 2026.
It also noted that global financial conditions have tightened, with higher advanced-economy bond yields and volatile equity and credit markets tied to the AI sector (Bank of Canada — Oct 28, 2026).
Canada is the first G7 central bank to raise rates in this week's cluster of decisions, and it explicitly blames energy pass-through. That sets the tone ahead of the FOMC decision at 2:00 p.m. ET today and the ECB's on Thursday.
Caribbean economies with Canadian banking links and Canadian-dollar tourism receipts, along with diaspora businesses in Toronto and Montreal, face tighter credit through 2027.
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated reported profit before tax of US$736.9 million for the nine months ended Sept 30, 2026, up 12% from US$656.6 million. Revenue rose 12% to US$1.96 billion, with net interest income up 12% to US$1.13 billion and non-interest revenue up 12% to US$831.6 million.
Profit for the period rose 13% to US$515.8 million, and the share attributable to ordinary shareholders rose 17% to US$364.0 million (Ecobank Transnational — Oct 27, 2026).
Total assets reached US$36.0 billion, up 4% since December 2025, and customer deposits grew 9% to US$27.5 billion.
Gross earnings were US$2.55 billion, up 11%. The board approved the statements on Oct 26 (Ecobank Transnational — Oct 27, 2026).
In naira, the reporting currency for many Nigerian holders, the same filing shows gross earnings down 1% to NGN 3.50 trillion. The gap reflects currency translation, not weaker dollar operations (Ecobank Transnational — Oct 27, 2026).
Ecobank operates in more African markets than any other bank group, so its dollar results are a broad gauge of corporate banking demand across the continent.
Double-digit growth in revenue and deposits points to sustained trade and treasury activity despite the energy shock.
Investors comparing pan-African banks should look at the dollar figures, because naira translation can make a growing franchise look flat.
Nigeria's Bank of Industry has secured more than €2.22 billion and N250 billion in new funding through transactions closed between 2024 and 2026.
Managing Director Olasupo Olusi disclosed the figures at a media roundtable on Oct 28 and described capital mobilisation as a key pillar of the bank's 2025–2027 corporate strategy (BusinessDay — Oct 28, 2026).
The total includes a €1.879 billion syndicated facility closed in 2024, €210 million from international development partners in 2025 and an oversubscribed N250 billion development bond issued in 2026.
The European Investment Bank added €85 million for agriculture and €50 million for healthcare manufacturing in 2026 (BusinessDay — Oct 28, 2026).
Olusi said the bank will direct the EIB lines to agriculture and local pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing. It will also expand ICT lending through its Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme and work with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment on a National Industrial Finance Compact to mobilise long-term capital (BusinessDay — Oct 28, 2026).
Commercial lending rates in Nigeria are still out of reach for most manufacturers, so development-bank credit is the most realistic source of long-term capital for factories.
Agro-processors and healthcare manufacturers should prepare bankable proposals now, because the EIB-funded lines are specifically for import substitution in food and medicines, the categories the World Bank expects to keep inflating.
Disclaimer: This report is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Consult a licensed advisor before making investment decisions.
