Kenya's regional financial institution NCBA Bank said on Tuesday that it is currently exploring opportunities to partner with Chinese financial technology firms in order to enhance Sino-Africa trade.
John Gachora, group managing director at NCBA Bank told Xinhua in Nairobi that one of the focus areas of the institution is to facilitate financial transactions and settlements between the eastern African countries and China.
"We are actively looking for opportunities to partner with Chinese fintechs because some of our customers who are Chinese as well as African traders have requested us to provide them with appropriate financial solutions for international trade," Gachora said when NCBA Bank listed new shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange following the merger of NIC Bank and Commercial Bank of Africa into NCBA Bank.
Early this year before the merger, NIC Bank Kenya began making locally available the Chinese yuan currency to its customers.
NCBA Bank, which is the third-largest banking institution in east Africa in terms of assets, has a presence in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania Rwanda and Ivory Coast.
Gachora said that negotiations with the Chinese firms are still at an early stage but hope they will conclude soon for the benefit of his clients. He added that China is an economic giant whose role in global commerce cannot be ignored by commercial banks.
