We consider our presence there to be very strategic and important. We are in all of Asia; the only bank in every ASEAN market... But when you talk about Africa, each country is different in its own way. Africa is not without challenges but it has been very resilient as well. I do believe that setbacks and a host of political as well as governance issues have resulted in Africa not performing to its potential, but hopefully, in the coming years, that will change... There's huge potential in terms of demographics, infrastructure and technology; many markets have leapfrogged.
We remain very constructive on Africa, but are also conscious about the challenges there and have navigated them, because we've made those risk calls way ahead of the actual events happening. We repositioned our business eight to 10 years ago on the retail side towards digital, [when] there was no rush to get it done, but we made that call early on, and took some difficult decisions. And the last seven to eight years, for every award for digital banking across every category, Standard Chartered has stood out.
Africa is a very dynamic market; it requires you to have a good feel for the pulse on the ground. Big changes are happening but the continent needs a lot more in the years to come, and that's where the fantastic opportunity is.
On the growing Middle East-Africa ties
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