Monday 30 August 2010
- Culled from The PunchThe President and Chief
Executive Officer, Beloxxi Industries Limited, a major manufacturer of
biscuits, Mr. Obi Ezeude, has commended Skye Bank Plc for supporting the growth
and expansion of the firm.A statement by the bank
on Friday, said that Ezeude made the commendation during the official
inauguration of Beloxxi‘s ultra-modern factory at Agbara, Ogun State.Ezeude singled out Skye
Bank and its Group Managing Director, Mr. Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti, for praise
for granting his company credit line to the tune of N1.7bn when other financial
institutions shied away.The Beloxxi boss said the
facility from the bank, which covered the cost of construction of the factory
and working capital, had helped the company to stand on its feet at a crucial
and difficult period of its existence.Ezeude described
Durosinmi-Etti as a professional banker, who had the interest of the country
and the survival of the industrial sector at heart, noting that with more of
his type in the banking industry, Nigeria would achieve rapid industrial
growth.Skye Bank and the Nigeria
Export-Import Bank were the two financial institutions that supported the
Beloxxi project and saw to its successful take-off.The statement said that
Skye Bank had also supported several other companies by granting credit
facilities to them for their smooth operations. For instance, the bank
was the lead arranger of the $240m Main One Submarine Cable project, which is
expected to fast-track broadband Internet access nationwide and reduce the cost
of sending or processing information.According to the statement,
in the area of agriculture, Skye Bank is the financier of the largest
indigenous cocoa processing company in West Africa, Multi-Trex Integrated Foods
Plc. It said that the bank was
also helping another indigenous player in the oil and gas sector engaged in
actual production of crude oil. The company, Waltersmith, has oil fields in Imo
State and has started exporting crude oil to the international market.The bank
is also partnering with some state governments, particularly Rivers, Lagos ,
Kaduna , Oyo and Delta in the areas of road construction, transportation and
power projects, the statement added