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Standard Chartered opens for business in Angola

Standard Chartered has opened a representative office in Angola bringing its presence in Africa to14.

In a press statement for Standard Chartered Ghana, the Chief Executive Officer for Africa Mike Hart, said “Our new on-the-ground presence will provide us with substantial opportunities to deepen our relationships with our customers operating in Angola and to grow our business, given the significant growth opportunities available in the country”.

The statement noted that, across all its markets in Africa, Standard Chartered has a proven track record in being able to assist companies operating cross-border transactions in Africa and China, providing the necessary financial tools and strategic advice to Chinese companies doing business in the region. The economies of both Angola and China, whilst not immune to the global economic downturn, are showing relatively resilient growth and the Bank expects trade flows to continue to grow.

The announcement from Standard Chartered comes soon after the Bank’s senior Wholesale Banking executives returned from Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzen, China where they met with leading Chinese corporates with commercial interests in Africa. The visit was part of the Bank’s wider Africa-China trade corridor initiative, aimed at deepening Chinese business engagement in Africa.

Commenting on the Bank’s expansion in Angola, Anil Dua, Regional Head of Origination and Client Coverage (OCC), Africa, said “Angola has been the primary focus of our Strategic Non-Presence Country (SNPC) strategy in Africa for several years- a strategy which has enabled us to support our key customers operating in Angola. Our key focus will be the Oil and Gas sector and with deepening our relationships with our Financial Institutions customers.”

Angola is the second-largest producer of oil and gas in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Standard Chartered has a long history and successful track record dealing in the Oil and Gas sector worldwide, offering in-depth industry expertise and delivering value to businesses through financing energy projects and acquisitions; export financing and advice on new project developments.

Standard Chartered’s new Country Representative of Angola is Miguel Bartolomeu Miguel, based in Luanda. Miguel is an Angolan national and has a wealth of finance experience, having worked in the oil and gas sector in Angola for over ten years.

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