Standard Chartered Bank continues its global business links

Standard Chartered Bank has continued its ongoing global business initiative, Belt and Road, bringing this first ever cross Country relay to Nigeria. The 8km relay race held at Teslim Balogun Stadium Surulere, Lagos and was led by eight staff athletes from Standard Chartered Banks across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.

The Belt and Road Initiative is an ambitious programme by China to connect and strengthen global trade links across the world – in particular between Asia, Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks. It borders along six corridors targeted at improving regional integration, increasing trade and stimulating economic growth. The Relay aims to highlight the Bank’s continued commitment to the Belt and Road, and the positive impact of the initiative to communities and businesses globally. The initiative is also aimed at increasingtrade interaction with the government and Chinese businesses within the country.

“As a key market in the African region, Nigeria has been leading the Belt and Road initiative since its inception” says LekeOgunlewe, Head Global Banking, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Ltd. “We are excited to host Nigeria’s leg of the first-ever Belt & Road Relay. This initiative strongly aligns with the footprints of the Bank with its deep-rooted history across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. We are well positioned to help clients leverage the Belt and Road opportunities to drive trade and investments throughout the region. We also have an overall commitment to support the growth of the Nigerian economy by promoting international trade with initiatives such as the Belt and Road”.

We have a presence in 45 markets along the Belt and Road corridors. This means we are uniquely positioned to demonstrate our rich heritage, deep local knowledge and unparalleled connectivity across our markets. By traversing these markets on foot and engaging local clients, media and communities, this relay continues to reiterate Standard Chartered as the preeminent Belt & Road Bankand our commitment to be Here for good,” she added.

The Belt and Road initiative is core to Standard Chartered. In 2017, the Bank committed additional financing for Belt and Road projects of at least USD 20 billion by 2020, and was involved in more than 50 Belt and Road deals worth more than USD 10 billion across a range of products and services.