Standard Chartered will open in Egypt by the end of this year: British multinational lender Standard Chartered Egypt expects to begin operations by the end of 2023, according to a statement from the Planning Ministry yesterday.

ICYMI: Veteran banker and the former head of the bank’s Qatar branch Mohammed Gad was tapped as head of the bank’s Egyptian entity this week.

Standard Chartered Egypt has been in the works for a while: StanChart received its full banking license from the Central Bank of Egypt in November 2022 allowing it to offer services to sovereign and government-related bodies, corporate entities, financial institutions and multinationals working in Egypt, the lender said in a recent statement (pdf).

StanChart is looking at corporate clients: “Sovereign and government related entities, large corporates, financial institutions and multinational companies operating in the country” are the company’s target market, it said.

The lender is no stranger to the region: Out of the 57 countries that the bank has a presence in worldwide, Standard Chartered currently operates in seven countries in the MENA region, accounting for 20% of the bank's total revenue, the bank’s regional chief Sunil Kaushal told the National last month.

Goodbye Lebanon and Jordan, hello Egypt and Saudi Arabia: The bank announced last year its plans to exit seven markets, including Lebanon and Jordan, to focus on bigger and faster-growing markets like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, according to a report by Reuters.

Playing the long game:The bank is confident of long-term growth in Egypt, despite the economic challenges, Kaushal told the National. “It's under [economic] stress … but you know, we're going there for the next 50 to 100 years,” he added.

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