Barclays Africa and Korea's Hana Bank has signed an agreement to establish a Korea Desk in Johannesburg. The desk will promote business co-operation and investment between Korea and Africa's vibrant sub-Saharan economies.
The establishment of a Korea Desk on the continent was one of the key points agreed in the broad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two banks in November 2013.
The MoU will deliver on Hana Bank's African strategy by servicing its clients in sub-Saharan Africa through Barclays Africa's network across the continent. In turn, the partnership with Hana Bank will give Barclays Africa direct access to corridor trade flows between Korea and sub-Saharan Africa.
Stephen van Coller, chief executive of Corporate and Investment Banking, Barclays Africa, and Jung-Jun Kim, president and CEO of Hana Bank, signed the agreement. "The desk will help us meet the growing needs of Korean companies in Africa while providing them with a comprehensive array of local and global trade finance solutions at competitive prices through Barclays Africa's extensive African and global network," said Kim.
Helping clients
"Innovative partnerships, like this one with Hana Bank, demonstrate the value-add that our African franchise provides in helping clients reach their ambitions in the right way. It also underscores our commitment to growing Africa's trade and investment potential, in line with our aim to become the 'Go-To' corporate and investment bank in Africa," said Van Coller.
The Corporate and Investment Banking division of Barclays Africa also has an agreement in place with Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). In May 2010 the bank agreed to support SMBC's Japanese clients with the provision of banking services in South Africa.
Three years later Barclays Africa signed an agreement to expand the geographical scope of its business cooperation with SMBC, and in January 2014 signed a further cooperation agreement with SMBC in Maputo, Mozambique focussing on the development of Mozambique's natural resources, infrastructure and water security.
