Web Exclusive

1st Sino-Africa joint cash management system launched

By Guo Rui (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-10-14 17:06

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Standard Bank of South Africa initiated joint cash management system on Wednesday in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Through this system, Chinese companies can reduce their financial risk by implementing real-time monitoring of the capital flow of their African projects and manage their African bank accounts from China.

Related readings:  Foreign lenders fight it out in private banking turf  PBOC launches 2nd super online banking system  ICBC says first half profits up 27% on loan surge  ICBC announces plan to privatize, delist its HK unit

China Gezhouba Group Corp and Wuhan Iron and Steel Group became the first two clients.

"More than 1,600 Chinese businesses had registered to do business, such as infrastructure construction and trade in Africa by the end of 2009. Direct investment reached 9.33 billion yuan, covering more than 80 percent of Africa," said Luo Xi, vice-president of ICBC.

In February 2008, China's banking regulator approved ICBC's purchase of a 20 percent stake in South Africa's Standard Bank for $5.6 billion. After the acquisition in 2008, ICBC became the largest single shareholder of the African bank with 305 million shares of common stock.