Standard Chartered

Corporate Treasury in: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Rwanda

Report date: 
8 Jul 2026

Commentary

East Africa is not often in the news – and that is probably a good thing. Kenya and Tanzania are both well known tourist destinations, which also have extensive tea plantations. Together, these provide a relatively steady inflow of hard currency. With Uganda, they compose former British East Africa, which, since its independence in the early 1960s, has generally been relatively stable – Uganda being the occasional exception.

In this call, peers mostly discussed these three countries, but also extended the scope to include the “East African corridor”, including Ethiopia, Mozambique and Rwanda. These countries have seen horrific violence in recent decades, but, with the exception of Ethiopia, their economic outlook is improving. 

Even if business is not booming, East Africa, while challenging for treasury practitioners, is not amongst the world’s most difficult regions. There are no formal exchange controls, though hard currency can occasionally be in short supply, especially in Tanzania, Mozambique and Ethiopia. Peers apply several different business models, some of which involve being paid offshore in euros or US dollars: this does not seem to cause any issues. One peer has a non resident entity in Kenya, which also acts as regional headquarters. One peer had made their Ugandan entity dormant, but still found business there was growing, so they have now re-activated the local entity. 

Another peer has production facilities in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Rwanda, and runs import operations in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. They find Rwanda works well for treasury operations, with Ethiopia and Mozambique being more challenging, especially when it comes to sourcing hard currency. 

 

Banking in the region, however, can be more difficult....Please Login / Register to read the rest of this Commentary.

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Topics covered in this report: 
Bank Accounts, Bank Relationships, Cash - deposits, Cash Repatriation, Wallets, PSP, FX, Collections - domestic, Funding, CustomerFinance, connectivity
Service providers discussed in this report: 
Standard Bank, Standard Chartered, ABSA, Stanbic, Ecobank, M-pesa, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Afrexim Bank, Access Bank, Vista

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Bank Relationships in the Middle East

Report date: 
19 Mar 2026

This report covers:

  • Commentary and Key Findings - please Register / LogIn to access this free commentary - a subscription is required to download the full report, or it can be purchased individually -  Enquire here
  • Bank Presence by Country
  • Banking Strategy and Consolidation
  • Treasurers' feedback on banks
  • HSBC
  • Standard Chartered
  • Citibank
  • JP Morgan
  • Deutsche Bank
  • Local and Regional Banks
  • Saudi Arabia — Structures and Challenges
  • Cash Management and Liquidity
  • Technology and Digital Banking
  • Organisational Structures and Regional Treasury Centres
  • Experiences in individual countries
  • UAE
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Kuwait
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Iraq
  • Egypt
  • Turkey

 

 

Topics covered in this report: 
Bank Relationships, Cash Pooling - cross border, Notional Pooling, Cash Repatriation, Funding, Political Risk, Cards
Service providers discussed in this report: 
Amex, Bank of America, Citi, JP Morgan, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank, SABB

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Corporate Treasury & Banking in China

Report date: 
10 Feb 2026

Log in / Register to read the latest CompleXCountries (CXC) commentary on Corporate Treasury & Banking in China has now been published. It adds to a growing archive of corporate treasury knowledge relating to China - Browse 18 commentaries with associated reports here - all sourced from detailed confidential peer discussions between the treasurers of multinational companies with operations in China - the report  includes approaches and experiences with:

  • Regulatory environment and regulatory uncertainty
  • Engagement with regulators and regional variation
  • Cross-border cash pooling frameworks (SAFE and PBOC)
  • Cash repatriation methods (dividends, pooling, intercompany loans)
  • Trapped cash and liquidity management
  • Use and limitations of cross-border and back-to-back loans
  • Decisions not to implement pooling and alternative structures (notional pooling)
  • Relationships with local Chinese banks versus international banks
  • Service quality and challenges with Chinese banks
  • Role and performance of international banks
  • Domestic cash pooling and cash reporting
  • FX management, interest rates, and bank competition
  • Onshore (CNY) versus offshore (CNH) renminbi markets
  • Short-term investments 
  • Funding structures (equity, intercompany loans, onshore bank loans)
  • Supplier financing programmes and associated regulatory/KYC issues

International banks discussed in the report include: HSBC, Standard Chartered, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Mizuho, Commerzbank and Citi

Chinese Banks include ICBC &  Bank of China

Topics covered in this report: 
Cash Pooling - cross border, Cash Pooling - domestic, Notional Pooling, Funding, Money Market Funds, Investments, Supply Chain Finance, Bank Relationships, FX, Hedging FX, guarantees
Service providers discussed in this report: 
Standard Chartered, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Citi, JP Morgan, Mizuho, Commerzbank, Bank of China, ICBC, amundi

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Banking in India: Relationships & Technology

Report date: 
16 Dec 2025

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The new CompleXCountries report on Banking in India: Relationships & Technology has now been published. The report is based on a detailed peer discussion between senior corporate treasury professionals from Europe and Asia in which they shared and compared their experiences with their relationship banking partners in India with a focus on how the Indian Government's digitisation initiatives are being experienced.

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The report covers practical experiences with:

  • Digitalisation
  • Bank Relationships - pricing & performance
  • Global Banks
  • Indian Banks
  • Bank portals & services
  • Bank guarantees
  • FX
  • FX Hedging
  • Tax & Customs payments
  • Funding 
  • Cards / T&E

The banks discussed in the full report include: JP Morgan, DBS, Citi, HSBC, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, Barclays, ICICI, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Bank of India

Topics covered in this report: 
Bank Relationships, guarantees, FX, Hedging FX, Funding, GiftCity, T&E Management, Cards, Tax, Customs, Dividends, Royalties, Cash Repatriation
Service providers discussed in this report: 
ICICI, JP Morgan, Barclays, HSBC, Citi, DBS, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, FBIL

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Corporate Treasury, FX & Bank Relationships in Egypt

Report date: 
24 Nov 2025

The full report covers current practices in relation to the list below. To read our commentary (analysis and key findings)  please Log In or Register

  • Foreign exchange regulations and practices
  • Use and management of Letters of Credit (LCs)
  • FX availability 
  • Methods of managing foreign currency flows
  • Payment terms in the market
  • Funding structures and intercompany financing
  • Cash management and liquidity
  • Exchange-rate exposure and losses
  • Corporate legal structures in Egypt
  • Local vs. imported manufacturing setups
  • Bank relationships and banking landscape
  • Geopolitical context and external investments
  • Overall business environment and operating conditions

Service providers discussed  in the full report: HSBC, Citi, Standard Chartered

 

Topics covered in this report: 
Bank Relationships, Hedging FX, FX, Cash Pooling - cross border, Cash Pooling - domestic, Funding, Investments, Letters of Credit (LC)
Service providers discussed in this report: 
Citi, HSBC, Standard Chartered

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Corporate Treasury: Approaches to Cash Pooling

Report date: 
17 Sep 2025

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CXC reports are based on confidential peer discussions between senior corporate treasurers sharing their solutions to complex treasury challenges.

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Our reports are packed with practical, experience based learning allowing users to benchmark their operations and identify proven, actionable efficiencies - please get in touch for details.

Topics covered in this report: 
Cash Pooling - cross border, Cash Pooling - domestic, Zero balance accounts, in-house bank, withholding tax, Tax, Notional Pooling, Virtual accounts, POBO/ROBO, Target Balance Account
Service providers discussed in this report: 
Bank Mendes Gans, BNP Paribas, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Citi, Bank of America, MUFG, Standard Chartered, Commerzbank, PNC, Bank of Montreal

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Banking & Cash Management Challenges in South East Asia

Report date: 
10 Jul 2025

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Topics covered in this report: 
ASEAN, Bank Relationships, Cash Pooling - cross border, Cash Pooling - domestic, Trapped cash, KYC, Cash Repatriation, FX, Regional Treasury Centre, Regulatory relationships
Service providers discussed in this report: 
JP Morgan, DBS, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank, Citi, HSBC, Bank Ayudhya (MUFG), MUFG, Mizuho, Bank of America, Bank of PhilippineIslands, Bank Negara Malaysia, Bangkok Bank, Kyriba, Starfish Digital

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Banking & Cash Management in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

Report date: 
18 Jun 2025

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Topics covered in this report: 
Bank Accounts, Bank Relationships, Cash - deposits, Cash Pooling - cross border, Cash Pooling - domestic, Cash Repatriation, Local ownership
Service providers discussed in this report: 
JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Bank of America

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Bank Relationships & Cash Management in China

Report date: 
7 May 2025

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CXC reports are based on confidential peer discussions between senior corporate treasurers sharing their solutions to complex treasury challenges.

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Our reports are packed with practical, experience based learning allowing users to benchmark their operations and identify proven, actionable efficiencies - please get in touch for details.

Topics covered in this report: 
Cash Pooling - cross border, Cash Pooling - domestic, Bank Relationships, Bankers Acceptance Drafts, Money Market Funds, Investments
Service providers discussed in this report: 
Bank of America, Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of Ningbo, Citi, JP Morgan, Standard Chartered, HSBC, DBS, China Merchant Bank, ICBC, Union Pay, WeChat Pay, Alipay

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Corporate Treasury & FX in South Africa

Report date: 
18 Feb 2025

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CXC reports are based on confidential peer discussions between senior corporate treasurers sharing their solutions to complex treasury challenges.

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Our reports are packed with practical, experience based learning allowing users to benchmark their operations and identify proven, actionable efficiencies - please get in touch for details.

Topics covered in this report: 
FX, Hedging FX, Bank Relationships, Cash Pooling - domestic, Netting, Cash Repatriation, Trapped cash, Intercompany loans, Collections - domestic
Service providers discussed in this report: 
Standard Chartered, HSBC, Citi, Standard Bank, First National Bank (S Africa), JP Morgan

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