Transaction banking services were launched by the Standard Chartered Bank (Mauritius)

The Standard Chartered Bank (Mauritius) Ltd launched its transaction banking services on Sunday at the Grand Mauritian hotel, Balaclava. Present on the occasion were the visiting Singaporean President S R Nathan and vice prime minister Pravind Jugnauth among other luminaries. Meeting The Independent for a special interview on the new launch, chairman of Standard Chartered Bank (Mauritius) Ltd Ray Ferguson speaks of how his organisation sees Mauritius as a springboard to Africa.

Ferguson is also regional chief executive officer, Singapore and South East Asia of Standard Chartered Bank.

In simple terms, what is transaction banking about and why is it important in today’s society?

In the past, Mauritius was mainly used to invest into India but increasingly investors are getting broader in their scope and more sophisticated. Today, we have direct investment to African markets. We want to bring together capabilities.

Companies, including large treasury centres, which want to come here to invest are more sophisticated and the capabilities have to be here to help people to manage.

Transaction banking is important to build the ability for liquidity management and cash management services. Transaction banking is basically the life blood of the world economy and it represents half of our business.

What areas are you focusing on within transaction banking in terms of product innovation?

It involves supply chain financing, corporate cash management, liquidity management, investment management and security or custodial services.

How well has the transaction banking business line been doing after the global financial crisis?

Globally, it was recognised that some banks and regulators are keeping the trade flows running. It was very important to get the world economy to re-start. I think that there was more demand for documentary trade products rather than opening accounts because of less trust in the banks.

However, we have seen a very significant growth in volume of trade over the last two years. I believe that the crisis caused competitors to re-appraise whether they have enough skills and penetration.

What has motivated your bank to launch this service in Mauritius?

We follow what we need in terms of what the customers are looking for. We are only meeting our customers’ needs. By building the necessary capabilities here, Mauritius can act as a springboard and regional hub but it will not happen overnight.

Mauritius is very capable of being the entry point into the region with its bilingual language, legal system, treaty agreements and investment protection.
What major challenges do you foresee in transaction banking in Mauritius?

Singapore has fantastic airlinks to many places in the world and hopefully, Mauritius can build up its connectivity into Africa and the rest of the world. It can work on building an efficient airlink and having skilled people to work in the financial sector.

What are the future possibilities that can be explored in banking here?

We will begin to see the opening of capital market and derivatives capabilities beyond the basic things available here. I can see more of investment banking products in the future.