The new digital bank, SC Bank Solutions, will be controlled by SCBSL with a 60% stake and BetaPlus with a 40% stake
Standard Chartered Group Headquarters, London. (Credit: Cobaltblue25/Wikipedia.)
Standard Chartered has entered into a joint venture partnership with Singapore’s National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to launch a new digital bank, dubbed SC Bank Solutions, in Singapore.
The UK lender’s wholly-owned subsidiary, SCBSL, has reached a share-holding agreement with BetaPlus, a holding company of NTUC Enterprise.
Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, SC Bank Solutions will be controlled by SCBSL with a 60% stake and BetaPlus with a 40% stake.
SCBSL will contribute S$144m ($107m), of which S$90m ($67m) will be offered before the closing of the transaction, and BetaPlus will contribute S$96m ($71.5m) for the 40% stake in SC Bank Solutions.
Standard Chartered said that SC Bank Solutions becomes its second separately licensed digital bank in Asia, following Mox Bank in Hong Kong.
SC Bank Solutions has received a full banking licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in December last year.
The joint venture is said to focus on providing digital banking services and is in line with Singapore’s efforts to digitalise its economy.
Standard Chartered said that the establishment of a new digital bank in Singapore is an important part of its overall digital strategy.
In a separate development, Standard Chartered has arranged $1.1bn of financing to the Angolan government for a water supply project in its capital Luanda.
The funding comprises two loans, a $910m facility supported by a partial World Bank guarantee, and a $165m financing support from the French export credit agency.
The Angolan government will use the funding to invest in water production, transmission and distribution facilities, including a water treatment plant, storage facilities and new networks.