STANDARD Bank Group signed a business co-operation agreement with South Korea’s Woori Bank to increase banking business from Korean companies operating and investing in Africa.
BUSINESS REPORTER
The agreement was signed by Standard Bank’s Global head of financial institutions Robert Cleasby and Woori Bank deputy president Dong Gun Lee in Seoul, South Korea.
“Woori Bank has no presence in Africa and, therefore, a partnership with a strong African bank like Standard Bank will enable Woori Bank to extend its banking relationship with key Korean clients to its non-presence countries,” said Cleasby.
“Africa and South Korea’s diplomatic relations are conducive to the flow of capital from South Korea to Africa, bringing in new prospects for institutional investors.”
Stanbic Bank is part The Standard Bank Group whose footprint stretches across 19 countries.
South Korea’s foreign direct investment in Africa has increased substantially up to $287 million in 2010, from $24,3 million a decade before. Bilateral trade reached $25 billion in 2011, from just under $6 billion in 2000, making it one of the fastest growth performers among Africa’s external partners.
Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, Stanbic Bank is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with a 153-year history in South Africa and started building a franchise outside southern Africa in the early 1990s.
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“The bank’s strategic position, which enables it to connect Africa to other select emerging markets as well as pools of capital in developed markets, and its balanced portfolio of businesses provides significant opportunities for growth,” the company said.
