Citibank bullish on Sri Lanka’s future prospects

By Charumini de Silva

Global financial services giant Citi is bullish on Sri Lanka and has reinforced its commitment to help the country and its clients given the strong growth potential.

Citi’s optimism was revealed by its Managing Director and Asia Pacific Head for Corporate Banking Gerald Keefe in an interview with Daily FT during his recent visit.

“The recent credit rating outlook upgrade to Stable from Negative by Standard & Poor’s is a further confirmation of the steps the Government has taken to make sure Sri Lanka is on a sustainable upward development path. We are committed to help Sri Lanka in this journey,” Keefe said.

He also pointed out that Sri Lanka was presently facing a “golden moment” by attracting strong attention from potential global investors, whether it was from China, India, Japan, US or Europe. “Sri Lanka has a lot to offer and Citi given its global reach and expertise has a lot to offer as well,” the Managing Director added.

Citi, which has a physical presence in 98 countries and does business in 160, also finds Sri Lankan talent exceptional and will continue to invest in its people. “Citi’s performance in Sri Lanka has been very good. I am very proud of the Sri Lanka team for what they have achieved,” Keefe added. “We also have ambitious targets and plans for next year as we step up our support for Sri Lanka and our clients.”

Established in Sri Lanka in 1979, Citi offers a full set of products and services to corporate clients from its branch in Colombo. Citi Sri Lanka has led local market innovation in terms of cash management solutions, trade financing, corporate finance, and most recently risk management and hedging. Citi Sri Lanka is also rated “AAA” by Fitch Ratings Lanka, and has maintained this rating since 2003.

According to Keefe, Citi’s performance in Asia has been tremendous as well, whilst it continues to be bullish about the region’s prospects and the role it plays in the global economy. “Our clients in Asia are doing well and as a Group our business is doing as well. Asia remains economically strong and we are quite bullish,” Citi’s Managing Director and Asia Pacific Head for Corporate Bank said.

He also said that the global economy was dynamic, with six major economies in positive GDP territory – a development not seen for a long time. “This is very positive but the world also sees significant geopolitical risks such as North Korean and Brexit,” he added.

However, Keefe singled out the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) championed by China as the single largest trade and investment initiative in modern times and Citi is excited to be an integral part of it.

“Out of 65 countries that encompass the Belt and Road Initiative, Citi does business in 58 which makes us have the largest network of any bank operating within the BRI area,” said Keefe. 

Citi has been active in infrastructure financing, trade financing and risk management advisory within BRI. “BRI is a golden opportunity for countries both on the Belt and Road and outside to boost development-orientated infrastructure and enhance trade with countries and companies along the Belt and Road,” he added.Given Sri Lanka’s strategic location, Keefe strongly believes the country stands to immensely benefit from the BRI. “I think some of the advantages are big and obvious,” he said, adding that being able to attract Foreign Direct Investment into the country was highly beneficial. “The ongoing infrastructure development projects are probably the most visible but benefits are longer-term,” he said.

The Citi executive emphasised that Sino-Lanka private sector collaboration was key to have a more lasting benefit for Sri Lanka under the BRI as Chinese companies were increasingly becoming technology leaders and investors. 

“There are great opportunities for Sri Lankan companies, especially Small and Medium Enterprises, to forge partnerships with Chinese counterparts and make their business models more robust and also enhance exports. Sri Lanka can be a key part of the Belt and Road eco-system,” Keefe emphasised.

As part of its value offering, Citi globally and locally has been helping clients to enter new markets or how to better manage their entries and expansions. “Given our expertise and reach, Citi helps clients both in China and outside with advisory, intelligence and analytics on risk management be it across M&A, capital markets, foreign exchange, hedging, financing and cash management solutions,” Keefe added.