22 February 2012
Standard Bank and Mizuho Corporate Bank sign cooperation agreement
Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd (MHCB) and The Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd today
entered into a non-exclusive general business cooperation agreement aimed at fostering
closer cooperation in financial services to assist Japanese companies in Africa.
The cooperation agreement covers a wide range of investment and commercial banking
business. This is the first time that Standard Bank Group has entered an agreement
of this nature with a Japanese financial institution.
MHCB will seek to provide a full range of support to its Japanese clients, many
of whom already have established businesses on the African continent or who are
conducting business with African companies. MHCB and Standard Bank will be able
to offer a variety of services, such as local currency denominated remittances,
local currency denominated loans and other financing, trade finance and project
finance.
MHCB is one of the main subsidiaries of Mizuho Financial Group (MFG) and serves
major Japanese and international corporations and their group companies, as well
as financial institutions and public sector entities globally. MFG is one of the
largest financial institutions in Japan, offering a broad range of financial services.
The group has over 57 000 staff working in approximately 950 offices inside and
outside Japan, and total assets of US$1.9 trillion (as of March 2011). MFG has an
exceptionally strong client base and business relationships with 70% of listed Japanese
companies.
Standard Bank is the largest bank in South Africa with approximately 25.5% of the
total assets of the South African banking system and it is also Africa's largest
bank, distinguished by its extensive operations in 17 African countries. Standard
Bank customers benefit from its knowledge and expertise in emerging markets, coupled
with its global outlook.
South Africa is the economic powerhouse of Africa, leading the continent in industrial
output and mineral production and generating a large proportion of Africa's electricity.
The country has abundant natural resources, well- developed financial, legal, communications,
energy and transport sectors, a stock exchange ranked among the top 20 in the world,
and a modern infrastructure supporting efficient distribution of goods throughout
the southern African region. Not only is South Africa itself an important emerging
economy, it is also the gateway to other African markets.
Together with other group companies, both MHCB and Standard Bank aim to take advantage
of this cooperation agreement to support their respective clients as they conduct
business within the region by fully meeting their financial needs.
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