StanChart urges Thai SMEs to consider MidEast, Africa for expansion

Standard Chartered Bank operates more than 1,200 branches in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, of which 900 are in Asia, 200 in the Middle East and the rest in Africa. In Asean alone, the UK-based bank has 120 branches in nine countries.

Christopher Dalo, global head of sales management and customer offerings, said yesterday that the bank had succeeded in encouraging Chinese SMEs to expand trading activities to Africa. Thai SMEs have the potential to do that, too.

The volatility in the European market presents an opportunity for Thai traders to migrate their activities to Africa and the Middle East because consumption in those regions is growing.

Thai SMEs should think beyond their own region to markets such as the Middle East. The bank has observed the move of Thai companies to find emerging markets. Thai SMEs have quickly adjusted to the European crisis, he added.

Chaveng Sethaporn, head of SME banking at Standard Charted Bank (Thai), or SCBT, said that as an international bank, StanChart should focus on areas that are different from local banks, especially exporters-importers that want to penetrate emerging markets.

"The networks that cover the three regions can ensure that SMEs receive convenience in cash management and onshore/offshore financial transactions, which is our long-term strategy," he said.

The bank plans to expand both term and working-capital loans to SMEs through speedy processing and attractive packages including a credit line of up to five times their collateral.

SCBT has a customer base of 10,000, of which 500 are exporters and importers and about 3,000 are borrowers. The rest are transactional customers.

The definition of an SME at SCBT is a company with annual sales of Bt8 million to Bt1.2 billion.

SCBT’s SME loan portfolio is expected to reach Bt15 billion this year, Chaveng said.

Dalo said Thailand was also an important market for helping to double the group’s SME portfolio over two to three years.

SME banking is a significant business in the consumer banks of StanChart, representing 20 per cent of revenue. The fee income of SME banking last year grew by 14 per cent, driven by trade products, associated foreign-exchange services and cash management.