Operating in China since 2000 through its representative office, BANK OF AFRICA is one of the first African banks to obtain approval to open a branch in Shanghai. It is today the symbol of Sino-African alliance for the co-development of Africa.

On Tuesday, April 23, the official inauguration ceremony of BANK OF AFRICA branch in Shanghai took place in the presence of President Othman Benjelloun, as well as officials, prominent representatives of the financial sector and major Chinese economic actors.

In the skyscraper of Pudong financial district - Shanghai Tower - where the branch offices are seated, the President of BANK OF AFRICA group, Mr. Othman Benjelloun, drew his guests’ attention to the importance of the year 2019 for his financial group, as it is both the sixtieth anniversary of the bank’s establishment and the launch of banking activities in the People's Republic of China, through BANK OF AFRICA International Shanghai.

The President emphasized at the inauguration Ceremony that “After nearly two decades of presence in Beijing, as a Representative Office, we have the privilege of counting ourselves, from now on, as a member of the Shanghai Financial Community, as a Chinese Bank with Moroccan origin and with an African perspective.”

He also highlighted the reasons for his group's interest in China for almost five decades, stating that “by betting on China for several decades and by operating today in Shanghai, we would like to illustrate the real role that financiers and Bankers must play: striving to build trust among economic actors. I would even say to help establish or reinforce it among states.”

Since its official launch in January 2019, BANK OF AFRICA branch in Shanghai has indeed become a natural interlocutor for Chinese public or private economic operators wishing to invest in the African market. It is also a sought-after interface by the Moroccan side when it comes to getting better acquainted with the Asian market, and approaching prospects or potential Chinese partners. Its contribution to the preparation of business missions between the two countries and to the promotion of economic relations and investments on behalf of Morocco is now recognized and very much appreciated. To this end, the group puts at the disposal of its branch in Shanghai its entire international network, with more than 1650 agencies around the world, to support investors in both Africa and China with all its expertise and know-how.

Thanks to its presence in Shanghai, BANK OF AFRICA Group aims at becoming one of the major compensators for the Renminbi (RMB) in Africa, after the approval of Chinese authorities. Hence, BANK OF AFRICA branch in Shanghai will be the starting point for supporting funding in foreign currencies and in RMB.

Simultaneously, BANK OF AFRICA Shanghai will strongly support Chinese institutions wishing to invest in Africa through deals offered by all the subsidiaries working on behalf of Africa or by participating directly in financing. It is a project previously launched and will grow thanks to the presence of the group in China.

BANK OF AFRICA branch in Shanghai is a platform meant to expand and to become a reference bank in trade exchange with Africa, thanks to its large network on the African continent.

As a reminder:

Already involved in a number of projects aiming at strengthening economic relations between Morocco, Africa, China and the rest of the world, BANK OF AFRICA group has been following, for several years, a policy that intends to diversify the network of its correspondents, by establishing large-scale partnerships for setting up SME Financing Funds and encouraging cooperation between Morocco and China, particularly with China Development Bank Corporation (CDBC), one of the leading banks on the Chinese market.

It has also organized the first B2B meetings event titled “China Africa Investment Meetings” (CAIM) attended by over 250 investors and business leaders from Morocco, China and Sub-Saharan Africa who met to exchange and establish partnerships in various sectors of common interest: automotive industry, agriculture, renewable energy, tourism, logistics, infrastructure, etc.

To further strengthen its positioning in China, BANK OF AFRICA has also actively participated to the China-Morocco Economic Forum, where several Memorandums of Understanding were signed with Chinese industrial and financial operators.

All these achievements make BANK OF AFRICA Group able to position itself as a major economic actor for the development of Sino-African relations.