Asia's financial super-connector

Standard Chartered is growing its affluent and international banking regionally, from Singapore

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S TRADE routes shift and geopolitical tensions reshape global wealth flows, Standard Chartered is positioning itself as Asia's financial super-connector — with Singapore at the heart of this strategy.

"We are seeing a redefinition of the corridors of globalisation. Trade corridors are evolving rapidly and are likely to be more dynamic," says Patrick Lee, Standard Chartered's CEO for Singapore and Asean. It is a challenge that plays to the bank's strengths: it operates in 53 markets worldwide, including all 10 in Asean.

Since opening its first branch on Battery Road 166 years ago, Standard Chartered has grown alongside Singapore — from financing the colony's booming rubber and tin trades to offering a full range of financial services as the city-state's most deeply rooted international bank.

Today, Singapore serves as the bank's Asean hub and houses much of its global business leadership. It is also the second-largest contributor to group income across Standard Chartered's global footprint.

Epicentre of cross-border growth Standard Chartered's cross-border strategy hinges on this: that in an increasingly complex and fragmented world, diversification matters more than ever.

The bank's global network includes a strong presence in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, a geographic spread that Lee believes positions it to serve as "the Asia super-connector".

"We lie strategically in the epicentre of growth and are a key player in the China Plus One strategy," says Lee. As companies diversify supply chains away from China into alternative manufacturing locations across the region, Standard Chartered's network is well-placed to capture the resulting financial flows.