On 18 March 2008, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited ( ICBC ) and the Standard Bank Group ( Standard Bank ) held a meeting in Beijing to launch their strategic cooperation. Under their cooperation, both parties will forge a long-term strategic partnership to commence extensive business cooperation in China, Africa and other regions around the world.
The launching ceremony was attended by ICBC s Chairman Mr. Jiang Jianqing, ICBC s President Mr. Yang Kaisheng, and Standard Bank s CEO Mr. Jacko Maree, and Standard Bank s Chief Executive of Corporate & Investment Banking Mr. Rob Leith, and Standard Bank Asia s Chief Executive Mr. Nickolas Hamilton, and Standard Bank Africa s Chief Executive, Mr.
Craig Bond.
The launching of the cooperation marked the entry into the implementation stage of the strategic cooperation between ICBC and Standard Bank. Both parties will commence in-depth cooperation on various aspects, including trade financing, international settlement, investment funds, commodities, global markets, and investment banking, with a view to continually expanding the areas of cooperation striving to create win-win situations that bring mutual benefits.
In addition, both sides intend to jointly establish a fund management company and raise a global resource fund of approximately US$1 billion in size to invest in entities or projects which are focused on natural resources, such as metals, petroleum, and natural gas.
On 18 March, at the launching ceremony for the strategic cooperation between ICBC and the Standard Bank, ICBC s chairman Mr. Jiang Jianqing said: Today marks the beginning of our long-term strategic partnership with Standard Bank. Our equity stake in Standard Bank will align the interest of ICBC and Standard Bank s shareholders, providing great incentive for both parties to ensure the success of our partnership.
The cooperation between our two banks the largest bank in China and the largest bank in Africa will not only create greater value for our shareholders, but will help further future developments in China-Africa trade relations. ICBC s President Mr. Yang Kaisheng said: As a candidate nominated by ICBC to serve as a director and the vice Chairman of Standard Bank, and as the Co-chairman of the Strategic Cooperation Committee, I have high hopes for the business cooperation between ICBC and Standard Bank.
Now, it s time for both parties to work hard together, and through our actions, make our cooperation plans a reality.
Regarding the business cooperation with ICBC, Standard Bank s CEO Mr. Jacko Maree said: Standard Bank and ICBC share the same vision for the long-term investment proposition for Africa, and Standard Bank is very well-positioned to serve as a gateway to the growing trade and investment flows between China and Africa.
The two companies also have much to benefit from via partnership in several other countries . Rob Leith, CEO Corporate and Investment Banking said We are now focusing on the practicalities of each of the key workstreams as we want to start seeing tangible benefits as quickly as possible.
In order to ensure the success of the partnership between the two companies, ICBC and Standard Bank have established a strategic cooperation committee co-chaired by ICBC s President Mr. Yang Kaisheng and Standard Bank s CEO Mr. Jacko Maree aimed at strengthening the organization, leadership, and coordination of the strategic cooperation.
ICBC and Standard Bank have named the personnel to be in charge of each of the six major areas, namely the global resources fund, resource banking, investment banking, corporate banking, international business and global markets, and have established a number of joint working teams where needed to enhance cooperation on specific projects.
A strategic cooperation office has also been set up between the Strategic Cooperation Committee and the working teams to facilitate coordination and communication matters, to monitor the progress of various cooperation projects on a regular basis, and to report to the Strategic Cooperation Committee.
Both parties will also second staff members to their counterpart s organizations to bring about on-site participation and to foster cooperation.
Previously, on 25 October 2007, ICBC announced its acquisition of 20% equity stake in Standard Bank, the largest bank in South Africa and Africa. After successfully obtaining the approvals from the shareholders and the relevant regulatory authorities, both sides successfully completed the settlement of the shares and funds on 3 March, making ICBC the largest single shareholder of Standard Bank.
The acquisition of 20% of Standard Bank is the latest and largest overseas acquisition made by ICBC following the acquisition of Bank Halim of Indonesia and Seng Heng Bank of Macau. This latest acquisition not only surpasses the previous two acquisitions in scale, but it is the largest single overseas investment made by the Chinese banking industry ever and the largest foreign direct investment into South Africa to date.
The launching of the strategic cooperation between ICBC and Standard Bank is the realization of what both parties have aimed to achieve from the 20% acquisition. Leveraging each other s complementary strengths, the two companies intend to cooperate extensively across a number of businesses and a broad spectrum of areas in a multitude of ways, through which they can provide better and more comprehensive services to their customers, maximizing synergies and value creation for all parties.
At present, ICBC is the bank of the largest market capitalization in the world, and ranks first in almost all commercial banking businesses in domestic banking industry such as corporate banking, retail banking, RMB settlement, cash management, electronic banking and asset custody. ICBC has an extensive distribution network and a strong customer base. It has branches and subsidiaries in thirteen countries and areas of the world, and provides a wide range of financial products and services to its customers.
Established in 1862, Standard Bank is the largest bank in South Africa and Africa. It has operations in 18 African countries with more than 1,000 branches. It also has operations in 19 counties outside Africa including the major financial centres in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Its two key businesses are Corporate and Investment Banking and Personal and Business Banking. It has particular expertise in emerging market economies, with strong expertise in key industries such as commodities, energy, power and infrastructure. The Group announced on 5 March 2008 that it has achieved a 21% EPS growth in 2007 and a ROE over 24% for the year, following an average growth in earnings of 20% over the last 20 years.
