adminThe sale of Standard Bank’s majority stake in its London-based global markets business will free up capital trapped overseas, to be used to earn better returns in the bank’s SA and rest of Africa operations, reports Business Day.
Standard Bank said it completed the sale of its 60 percent holding in its global markets business to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, its biggest shareholder, for $690m.
This was $75m less than announced last year, as the bank had to account for losses on its exposure to a metals scam in China. PSG Wealth portfolio manager Adrian Cloete said ‘‘it is positive that Standard Bank has reached an agreement on its London business as there is a lot of capital sitting in London and not earning a return’’.
The group’s SA and rest of Africa operations were earning ‘‘good returns’’, so repatriating the idle capital would allow the bank to use it to improve returns, Cloete said.
Standard Bank said it intended to deploy the transaction’s proceeds in ‘‘furthering the group’s growth strategy in SA, and across the African continent, subject to necessary approvals’’. – Business Day.
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