South Africa’s Standard Bank is helping the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China identify investments in Africa on a scale that could surpass the Chinese bank’s $5.5 billion purchase of a 20 percent stake in Standard Bank last year, bank executives told the Financial Times.
But since the initial deal was announced in February, coordinating efforts between the two banks as proved difficult, officials say.
“The honeymoon is over,” Tim Thackwray, Standard Bank’s head of investment banking for Africa, told the Financial Times. “Now the hard work starts.”