Singapore: Standard Chartered, the UK bank that makes most of its profit in emerging markets, will expand in the Middle East and Africa to tap rising oil and commodities trade flows, a senior executive said.
Standard Chartered will build its presence in markets including Angola, Egypt, Libya, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, said Vis Shankar, who will become the bank's chief executive officer for the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas on May 1 and be based in Dubai.
The bank has a presence in 14 countries in Africa and 10 in the Middle East.
"Both these continents are increasingly integrated in the globalised world," Shankar said. "It's going to be a big play for us."
Standard Chartered, which generated 16 per cent of pretax profit from Africa and the Middle East in 2009, wants to take advantage of growing trade flows and mergers and acquisitions between the oil-rich regions and other emerging markets.
Standard Chartered advised on $11 billion (Dh40.3 billion) worth of deals in the Middle East and Africa so far this year, ranking No 1, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
