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– Standard Chartered is considering pulling out of Africa as it looks to cut costs and boost investment in its home Asian markets, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bank, which has been turning away from its once-global empire for a while to concentrate on its core operations, would be the first of a limited number of business divestitures. "The group will concentrate its resources in these markets on serving the cross-border needs of global corporate and financial institution clients," said Standard Chartered in a statement. Like HSBC, the bank has recently benefited from increased borrowing costs as well as Asia's relatively robust wealth creation and economic expansion. "This new move, if it happens, is therefore not a surprise and was something they had hinted at in their most recent results presentation," one analyst said.As it places bets on robust economic growth in Asian regions and seeks to control costs, it has been turning away from its once global empire for a while to concentrate on its core operations.
The possible withdrawals in Africa, according to Standard Chartered, would be the first of a limited number of business divestitures in line with the company’s new goal of tripling investment in its wealth sector while reducing retail banking.
“The group will concentrate its resources in these markets on serving the cross-border needs of global corporate and financial institution clients,” stated Standard Chartered. Like HSBC, the bank has recently benefited from increased borrowing costs as well as Asia’s relatively robust wealth creation and economic expansion. “This new move, if it happens, is therefore not a surprise and was something they had hinted at in their most recent results presentation,” stated Gary Greenwood, Shore Capital’s equities research analyst.
In October, StanChart stated that it was considering the possibility of selling some or all of a few companies where the “strategic rationale is not sufficiently compelling” when it released its third-quarter earnings. The lender will save almost $1.5 billion over three years thanks to the cost-cutting measures, even as expenses rise due to growing business operations and mounting pressure from sticky inflation.
