‘The missing puzzle piece’: The story of our Egypt office
In January, we opened our first fully fledged branch in Egypt. The team on the ground explains its significance and what it means for our regional strategy.
While January 2024 marked the official start of our fully fledged presence in Egypt, the market has been pivotal for our business in Africa and the Middle East for nearly two decades, serving as a gateway to both regions.
Egypt is the largest Arab country, located strategically and uniquely in North Africa and West Asia (Sinai Peninsula) connecting Africa and the Middle East. Egypt has the largest population in the region (113.6 million) and is its third-largest economy.
The market is a cultural powerhouse and a new member of the BRICS group, offering significant long-term opportunities and growth potential. Meanwhile, investment is currently being channelled into the country with the UAE’s announcement of USD35 billion in funding to develop the coastal city of Ras Al Hekma.
Lending locally and on ground coverage
Prior to launch, our presence in Egypt was in the form of a representative office first established in 2007, where we focused on government related entities and financial institutions with limited banking services.
With our ambition to serve a wider market and establish a more prominent trade corridor, the decision was made to establish a fully-fledged branch. The move aligns with our dedication to foster Egypt’s economic development through the promotion of commerce, facilitation of investments and directing capital inflows.
“Now that we have a full banking licence, we’re building a proper Standard Chartered branch where we can lend locally and have an on-ground coverage team. We can do business on a much bigger scale,” Mohammed Gad, Egypt chief executive, explains.
“We started our operation in 2007 with only four people, who did a fantastic job, but given it was capital-light, there were various limitations as we didn’t have a local balance sheet,” he adds.
The launch has been met with the positive support of clients, officials and regulators. In April at the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, then Egypt Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said: “Standard Chartered Bank in Egypt will play an effective role in supporting the Egyptian economy, linking investment between Asia, the Gulf region and Egypt.”
The full spectrum
The office, based in New Cairo in the eastern part of the capital, is commercially focused, offering a suite of our Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) products as well as providing a convenient North African hub for our multi-national and large corporate clients.
As well as the networking opportunity for clients, Egypt is of strategic importance especially due to its global export relations through its ownership of the Suez Canal. The canal plays an important role in global trade connecting Asia and Europe with an estimated 19,000 ships navigating its narrow waterways every year.
Mohammad adds: “The Suez Canal is one of the most critical strategic marine channels across the globe. This kind of strategic lever makes Egypt a unique market for the Bank.”
“From an economic and commercial point of view, there are a lot of inflows and foreign direct investment into Egypt. China’s committing USD8 billion in the next three to four years. Egypt has also signed a commerce agreement which should give us more free trade with Sub-Saharan Africa,” he says.
The missing piece of the puzzle
The new branch is proving to be a great strategic choice for clients. An estimated 65 to 70 per cent of our global corporate clients have presence in Egypt, giving us an opportunity to deepen our relationships even further across the network.
“Our clients are very happy to see us have a solid presence in the country,” Mohammed adds. “Egypt has fulfilled a gap in our product offering from an Africa and Middle East perspective. It was the missing piece of the puzzle. It’s an added value for the group and we have access to the excellent Egypt talent pool.”
And talent is a major part of the Standard Chartered story in Egypt as the new office boasts more than 40 talented staff, all recruited locally.
“We’re not short of talent in Egypt. We have a strong and diversified pool of talented professionals and future leaders across the board with multi-national, regional, and local banks expertise,” Hasan El Gamal, Head of HR for Egypt, explains. “Currently we have more than 40 employees and our focus is on building a very strong portfolio for the group rather than just building a branch here in Egypt.”
The sky’s the limit
Growth is the buzzword for the team, which is open to many new opportunities in various business verticals, whether its retail banking, additional offices or perhaps, having a partnership with SC Ventures, Mox, or Trust Bank, taking more solid digital and operational routes to the market.
“The sky’s the limit for opportunities,” Mohammed says. “Egypt is entering into digital banking and the Central Bank has just approved the license for the first bank of its kind here. This is an area for potential growth, given our competence.”
With our official launch, we have solidified our presence with our rich history of over 100 years in the Middle East and Africa. We remain committed to advancing the growth of the Egyptian economy and achieving the objectives outlined in Egypt’s Vision 2030.
Mohammed concludes: “This commitment, it further stated, involves providing robust support and assistance to clients and partners through its extensive financial network, enabling them to explore diverse opportunities within the market.”