##ilience of our economy during the global financial crisis. far be it for me to trumpet this, but let us never forget that this happy state of affairs is the result of the strong regulatory and supervisory framework put in place by the bank of mauritius. let me say a word about our relations with kenya. last year, i was in nairobi to sign a memorandum of understanding with governor ndung ’ u of the central bank of kenya to enhance mutual co - operation in the supervision of our financial institutions. it is a little - known fact that our relations with kenya in the financial sphere go back to preindependence days. the kenya - based jubilee insurance invested then in an operation in mauritius, which is still present today. more recently, i & m bank of kenya joined forces with a mauritian conglomerate, with diversified interests in agriculture, hotels, tourism and manufacturing to take over a local bank. in the other direction, another large mauritian multinational conglomerate, involved in diverse activities ranging from insurance and leasing to banking and distribution, invested as a minority partner in one of the rapidly - growing kenyan banks, equity bank. the same conglomerate ended the year with another joint venture in kenya, this time in the furniture retail business. so kenya and mauritius are living examples of increased south - south cooperation and south - south investment, which mean more fdi flows among the southern countries. it seems that the wish i had expressed at the signing ceremony with my kenyan counterpart that the relations between mauritius and kenya tighten further, is fast being fulfilled. conclusion let me now conclude. this financing and investment package that we are celebrating this evening has allowed us to tick so many boxes on the long to - do list on our financial sector bis central bankers ’ speeches development agenda. we are slowly but surely moving forward. the road ahead is long, bumpy, and certainly not risk - free. but i have no doubt that the notes issue by omnicane will prove to be a milestone in this long journey. it would be remiss of me to conclude without giving some good marks to standard bank for taking the lead in this initiative. since the bank set up shop here in 2001, its business has expanded significantly. during the last five years, the bank ’ s total assets have increased three - fold. it now ranks 6th in terms of total assets of the banking sector. the bank ’ s previous ceo, chris clarkson, was constantly fighting for financial deepening and the development of the domestic debt

% equity stake in a large uk - based non - refining distributor of sugar in europe. omnicane clearly has the wind in its sails. it is hardly surprising that investors and lenders are rewarding it by subscribing to this second issue of notes of rs920 million, bringing the total bis central bankers ’ speeches issue to - date to rs2 billion – and doing so with a fixed rate coupon which is 145 basis points lower than the first issue. this brings me neatly to my next point. third, growing regional interest part of the proceeds of this second notes issue will finance omnicane ’ s domestic investment in the next stage of the flexi - factory. the remainder will support their ventures overseas, especially in the region. and this is where the us $ 120 - million loan package comes in. omnicane has a 25 % equity stake in kwale international sugar company limited near mombasa in kenya, with an option to increase its participation to 50 %. omnicane will operate and manage the complex which will produce ethanol, electricity and cane sugar, on the lines of what it does in mauritius. this is the latest chapter in successful mauritian involvement in the sugar industry in africa, which has a long and respectable history. in a previous capacity, i was involved in a lenders ’ meeting to mount a financing package for the first major investment from mauritius into mozambique – the marromeu sugar project. this followed in the wake of the sucrivore project in the ivory coast, to be followed later by the tpc project in tanzania. let me salute the boldness of the different sugar groups concerned which did not hesitate to invest in africa at a time of negative perception about the continent and its prospects. besides the co - arrangers, standard bank and the east and southern african trade and development bank, known as the pta bank, five other banks have participated in this loan, including two kenyan banks, kenya commercial bank and cooperative bank of kenya. i note that three mauritian banks are also participating in the financing, namely state bank of mauritius, mauritius commercial bank and afrasia bank. which gives me an extra reason for satisfaction. our banks are increasingly playing an important role by extending their footprints in the region and accompanying our investors in their overseas ventures. the latest ranking of the african banker shows that seven mauritian banks now figure among the top 100 african banks. our banks are robust and have undoubtedly contributed to the res