E What made Byblos Bank decide to expand into Sudan?
Byblos Bank has had a 30-year relationship with Sudan. We never had any problems and it was a good experience. The chairman is familiar with Sudan, which made a big difference in our approach. In 2001/02 there were signs of the country opening up and encouragement from the Central Bank, prompting Byblos Bank to become the first foreign bank in Sudan. In September 2003, we opened in Sudan. Byblos Bank Africa was supported by the OPEC Fund for International Development, which has a 20% stake in the bank, 10% is held by the Islamic Corporation for Development (100% owned by the Islamic Development Bank, IDB), 5% by a Sudanese family, and the other 65% by Byblos Bank Beirut.
E What has been the experience in Sudan so far? Has it been a success?
It was nothing less than a full success. We came at the right time and were able to actively participate in the economic growth of Sudan by providing financing needs to local corporations, offering efficient banking services. We are the only bank that is open until 4:30 p.m. We have foreign currencies available at all times. We provide yearly credit facilities, rather than transaction-by-transaction. We have dedicated staff for corporate and retail banking, who are there to serve our clients.
E What are the quantitative results?
We now have 4,000 clients, out of which 1,000 are companies. Most NGOs, diplomats, and foreign companies bank with us. Our assets now stand at $225 million, coming from a starting capital of $12 million in 2003 that had been increased to $25 million in 2005. And this is coming all from one location — our headquarters and branch.
E What difficulties has Byblos Bank encountered? How has it responded?
The main challenge was to build up a working team. In early 2004, our team consisted of 14 people: five expats from Beirut and nine Sudanese. Today, there are still five expats, but 60 Sudanese. We were able to find young men and women who today are among the best in the industry in Sudan. We looked for Sudanese working in the Gulf who wanted to return. We found young men and women, enthusiastic and ambitious Sudanese eager to learn, with good ethical backgrounds. Our employees undergo on-the-job training here and at the Byblos Bank headquarters in Beirut, where they focus mainly on customer service, risk awareness, and IT-banking.
E How does the banking sector in Sudan differ from others in the region? What are its characteristics?
Sudan is unique in that the banking sector is purely Islamic in the North and only recently conventional in the South, where only one bank operates. It is a very interesting system, similar to investment banking whereby the bank partners up with the client in the project or business, or buys goods on their behalf and resells it to them — at a profit, of course. On the other hand, customers also partner up with banks for investment deposits, whereby they share with the bank in the profits by the loan portfolios, as well as the risks.
sudan is unique in that the banking sector
is purely islamic in the north and only
recently conventional in the south
Another characteristic is that Sudan has a very strong central bank, probably the strongest in the region, that has proven to have excellent skills in good times and bad, managing the liquidity fluctuations, changing the currency — which was done perfectly, controlling local banks, and swiftly getting directly involved where needed.
E What are the challenges facing the banking & finance sector in Sudan?
They lie mainly in coping with future liquidity requirements when the economy will really boom. Another one is to achieve a faster turnover of financial investments.
E What are the medium- and long-term goals of Byblos Bank in Sudan?
Our slogan is “Your bank for life” and therefore we are here to stay indefinitely. We started to branch out in the Khartoum area by building our new HQ — a 14-floor mixed-use tower — in the center of town on Baladiya and Meknemr streets, and another branch close to the industrial zone in Khartoum, North Bahri. This branch will be finished in September 2008 and the headquarters in 2009.
E What products is Byblos Bank offering in Sudan? Which ones are successful and why?
We offer regular services for individual and corporate banking, trade finance, capital expenditure financing, investment deposits, export loans, raw material loans, car loans, housing loans, etc. All are successful because the bank provides swift and efficient service with strong liquidity available at all times and personalized service, as well as tailor-made solutions.
E How does Byblos Bank evaluate the overall economic and business climate in Sudan? Where does Byblos Bank see the country moving over the next years? The basic requirement for any investment is physical security and this is one feature in Sudan that the country can be proud of — it is absolutely safe. The Sudanese people are very welcoming and very courteous, which facilitates a lot of interaction and the solving of problems. Certain ministries are strongly encouraging foreign investment. The country is slowly moving towards more of a consumer society, as can be seen by the number of cars and consumer electronics sold, or supermarkets and restaurants. We do expect a surge
