Stanbic Bank vows to deepen Tanzania-China trade activities

The event was attended by stakeholders from the Chinese embassy, Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Africa Representative, and traders.

Over the past few years, Tanzania has experienced significant growth in trade activities with China. In 2021, Tanzania imported roughly USD 6.7 billion in goods and services from China, while it exported over USD 600 million to China. In the same year, the value of foreign direct investment into Tanzania reached over USD 100 million.

Leveraging its global network and expertise, Stanbic Bank Tanzania has been facilitating trade between the two countries by working closely with ICBC, the largest bank in the world.

Through their Africa-China Agency proposition (ACAP), known as Biashara Exchange in Tanzania, Stanbic Bank Tanzania has been helping unlock new business opportunities for local companies.

During the event, Stanbic Bank's Chief Executive, Kevin Wingfield, said:

"As a bank, we are cognizant of the role organizations like ours play in trade activities and economic growth. Through our Biashara Exchange solution, we have supported several traders in Tanzania to access Chinese suppliers, with over USD 270M in inward and outbound payments and USD 10M in LCs since 2022. We are proud to facilitate such important economic activity."

Stanbic Bank has been supporting the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by offering trade products and simplified banking solutions. In addition, the bank provides tailored structured deals, vehicle asset financing (VAF), FX facilities, and other non-financial support, such as the Business Incubator program, which has already trained almost 100 participants in business skills.

"We are committed to supporting and driving the development of this vital sector to complement the government's efforts in transforming Tanzania," said Wingfield.

Representing the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, Chen Mingjian, the representative from the Chinese Embassy, Yang Zeyu, reiterated the Chinese government's dedication to contributing to Tanzania's economic growth and assisting the nation's goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2025. He emphasized the importance of exploring new avenues of cooperation between Chinese and Tanzanian businesses to make this ambition a reality.

ICBC Representative, Li Hunan, stated that Tanzania has been one of the most dynamic economies in East Africa while also witnessing the bilateral cooperation between China and Tanzania developing rapidly in recent years. "In 2022, the bilateral trade between China and Tanzania reached USD 8.31 billion in total, up by 23.7percent year on year.

Of which, for China, the export number is bigger than the import number from Tanzania, with the export number from China being USD 7.7 billion, and the import reaching 540 million dollars in 2022," said Li.

Li reiterated that the strategic cooperation between ICBC and Standard Bank is key in creating significant value to help the Chinese in Tanzania capture new opportunities crucial to developing trade and the economies of both countries.