Africa-Press – Tanzania. Stanbic Bank has put into a motion mechanism to deepen trade activities between Tanzania and China in collaboration with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).
Stanbic hosted a China Day over the weekend in an event aimed at increasing trade between the two countries that also discussed insights on micro and macro indicators that could further improve business collaboration.
Stanbic’s Chief Executive, Mr Kevin Wingfield, said they are cognizant of the role organisations like them play in trade activities and economic growth.
“We are proud to facilitate such important economic activity,” Mr Wingfield said during the event last Friday.
Stanbic through their Biashara Exchange solution has supported several traders in Tanzania to access Chinese suppliers, with over 270 million US dollars in inward and outbound payments and 10 million US dollars in the letter of credit since last year.
“We are committed to supporting and driving the development of this vital sector to complement the government’s efforts in transforming Tanzania,” Mr Wingfield said.
Stanbic has been facilitating trade between the two countries by working closely with ICBC, the largest bank in the world through their Africa-China Agency proposition (ACAP), known as Biashara Exchange in Tanzania.
Thus, Stanbic has been helping unlock new business opportunities for local companies. The one day China Day event was attended by stakeholders from the Chinese Embassy, ICBC Africa representatives and traders. Over the past few years, Tanzania has experienced significant growth in trade activities with China.
The representative from the Chinese Embassy, Mr Yang Zeyu, who represented the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, Chen Mingjian, reiterated its government’s dedication to contributing to Tanzania’s economic growth and assisting the nation’s goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2025.
He emphasized the importance of exploring new avenues of cooperation between Chinese and Tanzanian businesses to make this ambition a reality. ICBC Representative, Li Hunan, stated that Tanzania has been one of the most dynamic economies in East Africa while also witnessing the bilateral cooperation between China and Tanzania developing rapidly in recent years.
Last year, Mr Li said, the bilateral trade between China and Tanzania reached 8.31 billion US dollars up by 23.7 per cent year on year. China’s exports to Tanzania reached 7.7 billion US dollars and import from Tanzania reaching 540 million US dollars.
Mr Li reiterated that the strategic cooperation between ICBC and Standard was key in creating significant value to help the Chinese in Tanzania capture new opportunities crucial to developing trade and the economies of both countries. Stanbic Bank has been supporting the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by offering trade products and simplified banking solutions.
In addition, the bank provides tailored structured deals, vehicle asset financing (VAF), FX facilities, and other non-financial support, such as the business incubator programme, which has already trained almost 100 participants in business skills.
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