Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Five potential investors, including local and regional firms, have made their bids to acquire Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe (StanChart), the oldest financial institution in the nation.
On April 14 of 2022, the London-headquartered bank stated that it would withdraw from Angola, Cameroon, the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Jordan, and Lebanon in the Middle East.
According to reports, the company is completely leaving these markets because StanChart accounted for only 1% of its 2021 revenue.
Bill Winters, the chief executive of Standard Bank, stated in April of last year that the financial institution was streamlining its operations while also narrowing its emphasis on the most significant chances for growth.
StanChart’s departure ends a 130-year presence in Zimbabwe.
According to the Independent, five investors have since submitted their bids and the list has since been reduced to three.
Banks which made bids:
i). CBZ Holdings and
ii). FBC Holdings
iii). FNB of South Africa
iv). South African bank Nedbank through its shareholder, Old Mutual Zimbabwe,
v). A consortium representing Zimbabwean entrepreneurs (names supplied) is also on the list of bidders.
StanChart Zimbabwe spokesperson Lillian Hapanyengwi said the process to identify potential buyers is ongoing.
Another source, however, said the finalisation of the transaction could be delayed by the upcoming general elections but confirmed bids from the five bidders.
This is not the first time that an international financial institution has exited the Zimbabwean market.
On June 2, 2017, Barclays announced the sale of its outpost in Zimbabwe to Malawi-listed lender First Merchant Bank, a continuation of the bank’s exit from Africa.
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