Stanbic IBTC Restates Commitment To Building Africa’s Economic Ties, Trade With China

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Stanbic IBTC Holdings, a member of Standard Bank Group has announced its commitment to enhancing international trade and boosting economic prosperity between Africa and China.

This statement was made at the Africa-China Trade Expo, a two-day hybrid event that featured industry experts and professionals from Nigeria, South Africa, and China.

The event, themed ‘Synergy for growth’, focused on export enablement and import policies, bilateral trade relations, product exhibitions by Nigerian and Chinese businesses, and the various means through which Stanbic IBTC facilitated trade between Nigeria and China.

In his opening remarks, the Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Wole Adeniyi, said that Stanbic IBTC’s Africa China Trade Solutions had connected numerous Nigerians to over 16,000 Chinese suppliers, and thereby promoted valuable trade relationships between the two economies.

He added “Through our relationship with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, we connect various businesses while we create opportunities to generate foreign exchange for the country,”

The Head, Africa China Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Ade Otukomaya, stated that business-friendly import and export policies would facilitate increased intra-regional and international trade.

Otukomaya said, “Policies, which are a deliberate system of guidelines to achieve rational outcomes, are points to improving trade relations.

“We want to encourage more trade and pursue open trade policies with other nations such as China, to catalyse the growth of Africa’s economy.”

In furtherance of the commitment, Executive Director, Business and Commercial Clients, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Remy Osuagwu, said, “African businesses can now export agro commodities and other products to China at subsidised rates.

“Chinese clients can also import and export goods and services from their provinces to Africa at lower costs. This will increase revenue for both nations, encourage market diversification and foster better international economic cooperation between the two nations. Our trade partners, Zhejiang International Trading Supply Chain Limited, have simplified the processes to enable seamless trade transactions between clients in both nations.”

According to Remy, improved trade relations between Africa and China would trigger business growth, which in turn would promote the development of commercial trade services, enhance the import and export of commodities, and boost economic development.

Thereafter, the Head Trade, Transactional Products, and Services, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Seun Ogundolapo, said the RT200 FX Policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria would encourage more businesses to go into export as well as prompt exporters to add value to the commodities they export.

He said, “The RT200 policy is designed to increase the nation’s earnings exclusively from non-oil exports to $200 billion in foreign exchange repatriation, within the next three to five years. This is also in line with our mandate to promote exports of agro commodities and semi-finished or finished goods to other countries.”

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