Just a phone call away

Manager at Equity Bank Kenya learns cultural differences to support growing number of Chinese customers

On a recent afternoon this month, Wang Yang stepped out of his office at Equity Bank Kenya near Nairobi's Yaya Center to say goodbye to a Chinese customer.

No more than eight minutes later, in the middle of a discussion, he received a call from another Chinese customer on his mobile phone.

As he spoke with the mobile phone to one ear, he picked up the landline, nestled it between his other ear and shoulder and dialed another colleague.

"The customer needs it (a bid bond) tomorrow morning," Wang said gently but hurriedly.

Welcome to just 10 minutes in the day and life of Equity Bank Kenya's busy relations manager, one of dozens of Chinese employed by African banks.

"I have to answer so many phone calls every day (from Chinese clients) that my ear aches sometimes. I don't want to count how many phone calls I answer (each day)," says the 28-year-old, adding that he'll often get calls late at night and during the weekends.

Wang, who began working for Equity Bank Kenya in 2013 after a stint at Standard Chartered Bank China, says he keeps his mobile phone on at all times of the day, even when he is back in China for the holidays.

That afternoon, after another flurry of phone calls, it was suddenly 4 pm. Wang, a somewhat gaunt man, has yet to take lunch.

"I seldom have time for it. Sometimes, I just eat some biscuits at my desk," he says.

The number of Equity Bank Kenya's Chinese clients may well explain why Wang is so busy. Currently, the bank has more than 1,000 accounts with Chinese individuals and enterprises, Wang says. Revenue from the bank's business with Chinese enterprises is about 5 percent of the bank's total revenue.

Wang says it is difficult to work with two cultures that have significant differences and walk to different beats.

"I have to press our African clients all the time," he says.

He explains that Chinese clients, on the other hand, often give him urgent tasks. On one recent Saturday morning, Wang was asked to help issue a bid bond - a debt by a bidder for a construction project that gives the project owner the assurance that the bidder will take on the job if selected - on behalf of a Chinese company by noon on Monday. Wang had less than two days to complete a procedure that he says usually takes at least two weeks.

Wang says the breakneck pace at which Chinese companies based in Africa work is a result of the rapidly changing orders from their head offices in China.

"I understand them very much," Wang says. "Sometimes I feel very awkward as it can be hard to meet clients' requirements. The state-owned enterprises can be good. But that's not the case for private companies, who sometimes don't understand how things are done in Africa.

"As an employee of the bank, I have to, on the one hand, ask my clients to abide by bank regulations and the local culture. On the other hand, I have to get my Kenyan colleagues to deal with the requirements from Chinese clients in a flexible way."

Wang explains that another difficulty in working in Kenya is procuring approvals on deals from upper management.

"We have three board members, but one or two of them may be absent. According to local regulations, they are the only people who can sign agreements. But Chinese clients like to go through the procedures urgently."

Wang says he often makes yet more phone calls to confirm details on an agreement and fax scanned documents to board members.

"Finding out if we can deal with things in a flexible way under the regulations is a very important part of my work," he says.

Because of the bank's success with Chinese clients, Wang and his Chinese colleagues are gaining more sway at the bank.

"The procedure to get approval in some banks can be long because you have to report to the executives. But here in my bank's equity department, we can go directly to the CEO or director of the board. This gives us great voice. We can even finalize procedures that usually need a week in one day," says Lu Ruiheng, general manager of corporate banking, Equity Bank Limited.

His advice to Chinese clients? Learn the local culture.

"When Chinese are bidding for business here in Kenya, they need to learn the local laws and how to market themselves to the locals. And many are doing this, but they are spending a lot of time on this without leaving a lot of time for the bank to go through bid approval procedures. But my colleagues and I can helpful to them and help them solve their problems."

(China Daily Africa Weekly 03/20/2015 page16)