Standard Chartered will attempt to consolidate its position in Africa by investing US$100mn into its operations across the continent by 2015
The London-headquartered bank said it had plans to double its income from the African continent, currently at US$1.3bn, within the next five years.
The bank is already present in 15 African countries and will invest more than US$100mn in the region in the next three years as it looks to open 110 new branches in eight countries including Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria. It also has plans to enter the fast-growing economy of Mozambique.
Standard Chartered Africa CEO Diana Layfield said that the group was squaring up to better facilitate China-Africa trade, which hit a record high of US$166bn in 2011.
Layfield said, “We see a real opportunity to capture a larger share of the increasing south-south trade links between Africa and Asian countries including India, China and South Korea.
“Investment is also expected be accelerated due to mobile payments technology, a method of reaching the unbanked that has seen particular success in Kenya, new mortgage products, and the fast-growing Islamic finance sector.”
