Standard Chartered, IFC partner for $200m trade finance program

November 13, 2023 (MLN): Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan (PSX: SCBPL) has entered into an un-funded Risk-Participation Agreement with the International Finance Corporation, involving a $200 million PKR equivalent program, said a press release issued today.

In this program, IFC will cover 50% of Standard Chartered's risk related to short-term trade and working capital-funded loan facilities for corporate clients in Pakistan.

Standard Chartered and IFC aim to leverage their long-standing relationship with export-based industries in Pakistan to enable the generation of foreign exchange inflows which remain critical for the sustainable growth of Pakistan’s economy, it noted.

These inflows will be made possible through the enhanced availability of trade and working capital loan facilities including supply chain financing and sustainable finance product suites for large-scale manufacturers.

This program is a key milestone of IFC and SCBPL's global collaboration that can be replicated across emerging markets to facilitate trade flows. 

“we are delighted with this first-of-its-kind agreement between IFC and Standard Chartered in Pakistan," Sarmad Lone, Head of Client Coverage, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking (CCIB) for Standard Chartered in the Africa and Middle East region said.

He mentioned that Standard Chartered, as a trade-focused bank with an extensive network spanning over 50 markets across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, plays a pivotal role in improving access to capital and liquidity to facilitate global trade.

"This partnership with IFC enables us to work around macroeconomic challenges and helps us support our client base and facilitate the development of their business. It is at the core of what we do as a Bank and in complete alignment with our Stand of Resetting Globalisation and our brand promise, here for good,” he added.

Momina Aijazuddin, Regional Head of Industry at IFC’s Financial Institutions Group said that this risk participation program is the first of its kind for IFC in Pakistan, designed to enhance access to finance and working capital to companies in economically lucrative sectors, as well as to small and medium enterprises that operate across their value chains.

"We are confident that this effort with just 10 Standard Chartered will play an important role amidst current macro-economic conditions in Pakistan by catalyzing job creation, trade, and productivity, as well as economic growth,” she added.

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