Business

JUST IN: Standard Chartered Bank Sells Subsidiaries In Five African Countries

Published

2 years ago

July 14, 2023

Standard Chartered Bank and Access Bank Plc have entered into agreements for the sale of Standard Chartered’s shareholding in its subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania.

Each of the sale transactions remains subject to the approval of the respective local regulators and the banking regulator in Nigeria.

The announcement was made on Friday at Standard Chartered’s headquarters in London in the presence of senior representatives from both banks, a statement by the United Kingdom-based lender said.

The agreement was signed by the Regional CEO, Africa & Middle East, Standard Chartered, Sunil Kaushal, and the Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Roosevelt Ogbonna.

The lender said the agreement with Access for the sale of the bank’s business in Sub-Saharan Africa was in line with Standard Chartered’s global strategy, aimed at achieving operational efficiencies, reducing complexity, and driving scale.

Access Bank will provide a full range of banking services and continuity for key stakeholders including employees and clients of Standard Chartered’s businesses across the five aforementioned countries.

Access Bank and Standard Chartered will work closely together in the coming months to ensure a seamless transition, with the transaction expected to be completed over the next 12 months.

Commenting on the agreement, Kaushal was quoted as saying, “Following on the announcement we made in April last year, the project is now substantially completed with the announcement for the sale of the five markets and the furtherance of a partnership with Access Bank.”

“This strategic decision allows us to redirect resources within the AME region to other areas with significant growth potential, ultimately enabling us to better support our clients.

“We look forward to working closely with Access Bank’s team over the coming months to achieve a successful conclusion to this transaction while safeguarding the interests of our valued clients and prioritising our employees”.

Also commenting on the agreement, Ogbonna stated, “We are pleased to sign this agreement today and express our appreciation for being selected as the preferred partner to Standard Chartered through this transaction, in which it is exiting four African markets and refocusing in one.

“As a distinguished regional and international bank with a rich heritage spanning over 150 years, Standard Chartered Bank has built a solid presence in these markets for over 100 years.”

For Access Bank, the transaction represents a key step in its journey to build a strong global franchise focused on serving as a gateway for payments, investment, and trade within Africa and between Africa and the rest of the world, anchored by a robust capital base.

Ogbonna added, “At Access Bank, we are committed to reshaping the global perception of Africa and African businesses, even as we continue to build toward our vision to be the World’s Most Respected African Bank.

“Our five-year growth plan will see us build a world-class class payments gateway leveraging the power of technology and a robust network of relationships across our operating countries.

“This will be supported by a dynamic ecosystem of local and international partnerships, enabling us to serve global payments and remittances efficiently.

“With our recent European expansion and our deepened presence in key trading corridors across Africa, we will bridge the gap between cross-border and domestic transfers across all business segments. More importantly, we are committed to impacting our host communities positively.”

In April 2022, Standard Chartered decided to divest from a number of markets, namely Lebanon, Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, and Jordan, and to exit the CPBB (Consumer Private and Business Banking) business in Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania.

The bank announced the sale of its business in Zimbabwe earlier in June and in Jordan in March this year.

With this announcement, Standard Chartered has completed the divestment process from the markets announced in April 2022, except Côte d’Ivoire where it remains actively engaged in discussions with potential buyers for the sale of its CPBB business in the country.

Business

Dangote Refinery Reduces Fuel Price

Published

1 day ago

August 12, 2025

Editor

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced a reduction in the ex-depot (gantry) price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, commonly known as petrol, by N30, from N850 to N820 per litre, effective from August 12, 2025.

This was disclosed in a statement by the company’s spokesman, Anthony Chijiena, on Tuesday.

The 650,000-barrel-per-day plant said the move is part of its unwavering commitment to national development, assuring the public of a consistent and uninterrupted supply of petroleum products.

Business

Indian Refiners Abandon Russia For Nigerian Crude, As Dangote Refinery Relies On US

Published

2 days ago

August 11, 2025

Editor

India Refineries have abandoned Russian crude for Nigerian crude, while domestic refiner Dangote Refinery relies heavily on West Texas Intermediate crude from the United States of America.

This followed a recent sanction threat by US president Donald Trump on India over continued patronage of Russian crude.

According to Reuters, industry sources said that Indian Oil Corporation recently bought one million barrels of Nigeria’s Agbami crude for September 2025 delivery in a tender awarded to global trader Trafigura.

Also included are one million barrels of Angola Girassol, one million barrels of US Mars, three million barrels of Abu Dhabi Murban, and two million barrels of Nigerian oil, according to Reuters.

The report noted that the purchase is part of a broader sourcing spree that has seen Indian refiners secure millions of barrels from non-Russian sources post July 2025.

Meanwhile, Indian refiners secured purchases of Nigerian crude grades; the $20bn Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, is relying on around 60 percent on US and other imoorts to feed its processing units.

Data showed that the refinery imported an average of 10 million barrels in July 2025, saying it was increasingly relying on the US for its feedstock despite the naira-for-crude deal with the Federal Government, which kicked off in October last year.

According to Reuters, the Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum have bought a million barrels of non-Russian crude billed for delivery in September and October after the US pressured India to halt purchases from Russia.

Business

NNPCL Increases Fuel Price

Published

1 week ago

August 5, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has increased the pump price of premium motor spirit across its retail outlets.

It was gathered that NNPCL retail outlets in Abuja have adjusted their fuel pump price to N955 per litre from N890.

This is the case in NNPCL retail outlets along Kubwa Expressway, Wuse and other parts of Abuja.

Similarly, the pump price hike has been implemented at filling stations in Kogi and Nasarawa.

This means that the petrol pump price was increased by N65.

This comes after independent petroleum product marketers and filling station owners in Abuja increased petrol pump prices to between N950 and N971 per litre at the weekend. Their decision followed an upward review of the ex-depot petrol price by Dangote Refinery to N858 per litre, up from N820.