Dubai: HSBC is working on ambitious plans for growth the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT), where a faster rebound in economic growth and trade in the post-COVID era will bring new opportunities for the bank, said Martin Tricaud, HSBC Group CEO for MENAT and Deputy Chairman of HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd.
The rebound in GDP growth and international trade is expected position the region as one of the fastest growing in the world over the coming decade.
As the nine markets in which the bank operates in the region bounce back from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, HSBC expects economic growth and international trade in MENAT to outpace the global average and create a raft of new opportunities across the bank’s customer spectrum.
MENAT is a dynamic, entrepreneurial region and a return to solid growth will provide a host of long term, strategic, sustainable growth opportunities for our customers across the nine markets we serve in the region and we are ready to support them as they build back better from the impact of COVID-19.
New opportunities
“HSBC has ambitious plans for growth in MENAT, which is positioned to be one of the fastest growing regions of the world over the coming decade,” said Tricaud.
“We are investing to support the needs of customers across the entire spectrum of our business, from the investment plans of governments, multinationals and fast-growing smaller companies in our wholesale banking portfolio, to the wealth management needs of the millions of customers in our personal banking portfolio.”
The International Monetary Fund forecasts that the economies of the nine markets in which the bank operates in the region will see the value of gross domestic product (GDP) expand by 34.7 per cent in aggregate by the end of 2025 as nations recover from the sharp downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Trade growth could follow a similar path.
Focus on technology
Tricaud said HSBC is putting special emphasis on investments in technology, particularly its market leading HSBCnet application for wholesale customers to help them digitise transactional foreign exchange flows and accelerate digital payments, and with enhancements to the range of services on its mobile platform for retail customers.
HSBC is also boosting its capabilities for financing and structuring complex solutions for corporate transactions to support business customers as they invest and expand, as well as rolling out new advisory services for sovereign wealth funds and strengthening its market-leading capabilities in sustainable finance and trade.
Private banking push
The bank is expanding its Private Banking business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after being granted a licence to operate in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial centre in the nation’s capital.
The ADGM location expands HSBC’s Private Banking footprint from its current base in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and follows the 2020 launch of the Jade account, which significantly increased the bank’s offering to the market of high net worth individuals.
“MENAT is a dynamic, entrepreneurial region and a return to solid growth will provide a host of long term, strategic, sustainable growth opportunities for our customers across the nine markets we serve in the region and we are ready to support them as they build back better from the impact of COVID-19,” said Tricaud.
