Kina joins trade project

THE Asian Development Bank and Kina Bank Limited have signed a trade finance agreement enabling ADB’s trade finance programme to provide a credit guarantee facility that can support up to $4 million (K12.57 million) of trade annually in PNG.
The agreement was signed by ADB’s Private Sector Financial Institutions Division director Christine Engstrom and Kina group’s chief executive officer Syd Yates.
It was on the sidelines of the 50th annual meeting of the ADB’s board of governors in Yokohama, Japan.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Kina Bank to support increased trade in PNG,” Engstrom said.
“With ADB’s backing, Kina will be able to grow its trade finance operations and increase financial support to local importing and exporting businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises.”
Kina is the first bank in PNG that the ADB’s trade finance programme was partnering with, and the third bank in the Pacific to join the programme.
The programme had been operating since 2004 across Asia. In 2015, Australia provided financial assistance for the programme to expand to the Pacific.
“We are very excited about joining ADB’s Trade Finance Programme,” Yates said.
“Joining the programme enables Kina to leverage the AAA international rating of ADB to add value to our client’s international trading activity.
“It also demonstrates ADB’s comfort with Kina’s strong framework for managing the risks pertinent to international transactions.”
Kina was formed in 2015 from the merger of Maybank (PNG) Limited and Kina Finance Limited.
Kina is ranked fourth by size in PNG, accounting for about 3 per  cent of total banking sector assets.