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Community


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Community blog

Read our latest news and views and get to know us better

Celebrating the Year of the Rooster
MaxP
Community Coordinator

As Africa’s biggest bank, with a heritage of over 150 years on the continent, Standard Bank is a champion of the Africa China opportunity. Our formidable partnership  with the largest bank in the world, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), gives us unparalleled access to China.

 

Together, Standard Bank and ICBC are building and growing the Africa China trade & investment corridor, and helping forge a partnership that is transforming economies, growing cities, developing infrastructure, increasing employment, and empowering people. In short, the partnership brings two worlds together.

 

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Standard Bank – Africa is our home, we drive her growth

 

A formidable partnership driving opportunity and prosperity

Standard Bank’s Africa-focused strategy and our formidable partnership with ICBC provides  an unrivalled ability to facilitate capital flows and cross-border trade between Africa and China. We bring together ICBC's financial and global reach, and Standard Bank’s deep expertise and heritage in Africa, to support clients in both destinations.

 

We link our clients to growth opportunities offered by African economies. Across Africa, our clients rely on our strong partnerships with government, regulators and business, and trust our capabilities in growth sectors from agribusiness and infrastructure development to retail and fast moving consumer goods.

 

We operate in 20 African countries, providing the financial capabilities and relationships to make progress real. We assist clients by navigating complex financial and regulatory cross-border environments, with experienced local teams and in-depth research providing the basis for our deep understanding of market dynamics in countries with rapidly developing economies.

 

Through ICBC, we have strong relationships with Chinese businesses – many of whom are already playing a significant part in the infrastructural development of African markets, as well as the related industries associated with that development which drive socio-economic growth.

 

The rise of the Renminbi

China’s role in Africa’s economic growth and development continues to increase. As China and Chinese companies continue to ramp up economic activities on the continent, the use of the Renminbi (RMB) in international trade continues to gain traction. Payments between Africa and China (and vice versa) have found a home with Standard Bank.

 

We are already a dominant foreign currency player in Africa, conducting 2.1 million trades annually and executing approximately 30% of all foreign exchange flows on the continent. We offer our customers a suite of products to assist in their dealings with China, including foreign exchange spot, forwards, currency options and money markets, as well as telegraphic transfers, Letters of Credit and customer foreign currency accounts.

 

In extending our Renminbi capabilities, products and services, and through established banking relationships and trading lines with numerous counterparties, we offer our clients competitive pricing and real access to opportunity. Through our understanding of the international payment and trade requirements of Chinese clients doing business in Africa, and African clients doing business in China, we will continue to deepen our capabilities to drive real growth for China and Africa.