18 January 2023, London, UK – Standard Chartered announces EUR 149 million of Social Loan financing for the Angolan Ministry of Finance to build a new hospital in Kilamba, with a specialist burns ward. This is the government of Angola’s first Social Loan.

The financing is backed by Export Credit Agency (ECA) UK Export Finance¹ (UKEF) and ASGC UK Limited² is the contractor responsible for managing the construction work. Standard Chartered acted as sole Bookrunner, Original Lender, Facility Agent, Structuring Bank and Mandated Lead Arranger.

The project is being developed by the Angolan Ministry of Health and involves the design, building and equipping of the hospital. It is part of the government’s National Development Plan for Angola 2018-2022.

Kilamba is a large residential area just outside of Angola’s capital of Luanda and the new hospital will help provide better healthcare services for the city and surrounding areas. The hospital will have seven floors and capacity for 250 beds. Not only will it boast a dedicated unit for the treatment of burns but will offer general healthcare services. These include accident and emergency, palliative care, general and paediatric clinics, surgery, geriatric care, pathology services, transfusion services, a physiotherapy service, and infection control and prevention.

Standard Chartered structured the financing to fully comply with the Social Loan Principles³ (SLPs) and the project also contributes towards meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3⁴, which relates to ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages. Additionally, it aligns to environmental and social risk management international best practices.

Mustafa Sajjad Hussain, Structured Export Finance, Standard Chartered Bank, said: “This is another in a long line of financing we have structured for the Angolan Ministry of Finance and arranged with UKEF, showing we are a trusted partner. We’re very proud to help support a project that makes such a difference to local communities by providing improved healthcare services.”

Tim Reid, newly-appointed CEO of UK Export Finance, said: “This support shows once again the leading role the UK plays when it comes to exporting world-leading expertise in project development and medical equipment. Working with the Angolan government and Standard Chartered Bank, we are proud to demonstrate how British ingenuity can enhance healthcare for communities abroad whilst helping UK businesses export their best-in-class goods and services.”

This transaction follows the recent announcement⁵ of EUR 238 million of ECA-supported financing for the government of Angola to build new infrastructure, supporting the country’s agricultural industry and transport network. In September 2021, the Bank also announced⁶ US$ 1.1 billion financing to develop critical water supply infrastructure to serve the Angolan capital Luanda.