Citi Sees Strong Growth from Supporting Clients Across Belt and Road Trade Corridors

In the last 12 months, revenues from supporting clients across the Belt and Road corridors are up 30 percent. The growth has come from increased corporate and investment banking, cash management, trade, foreign exchange and other flow business as the bank increases its market share with the increase in client activity.

Sectors where the bank has seen strong growth include clients in industries including tech, financial institutions and energy. In terms of regional growth - Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East all registered 30 percent client revenue growth in the last twelve months.

A combination of supporting global MNCs and banking leading Chinese corporates across the Belt and Road has underpinned the growth. Recent client highlights include Indonesia PT Banten's project bond, Naspers US$2.5 billion syndicated loan and Bank of China's US$3.8 billion US dollar equivalent Belt and Road branch bond. Citi banks close to 90 percent of the Fortune 500 on the Belt and Road.

"Citi has been facilitating trade, investment and promoting economic progress across the Belt and Road for over 100 years—Citi's network strategy predates the Belt and Road. We are seeing though an increased demand for banking services as more of our global clients increasingly identify and invest in opportunities across the Belt and Road," said Beibei Li, Citi's Global Head of Belt and Road.

Citi has the largest network for clients with a physical presence in over half of the recognized Belt and Road markets where it supports over 3,500 corporate clients located in these markets.

"We have over 100 years of history of operating across the markets along the BRI with at least a decade's experience across all the countries we can serve our clients in. This gives Citi a unique insight to support clients," added Beibei.

Citi's presence spans over 100 Belt & Road markets where the bank offers leading Treasury and Trade, Securities Services, Custody, Markets including FX, Corporate and Investment Banking, Commercial Banking, Lending, Capital Markets and M&A solutions.

Clients operating along the Belt and Road are supported by Citi's local infrastructure and specific Asia desks. Citi opened additional Asia desks during 2017 and 2018 and now has 21 Asia desks in operation globally—11 China Desks, nine Korea Desks and two India Desks—a network to bank Asia's champions across the world and through the Belt and Road.

Citi serves clients in 160 markets; with the largest physical proprietary payment network in 98 markets; clearings and custody capabilities in 63 markets, with direct clearing access to 232 clearing systems worldwide. We operate trading floors in 77 markets and facilitate around $3 – 4 trillion of transaction flows on a daily basis. This global footprint and product excellence position us well to serve both traditional global businesses as well as next-generation clients along the Belt and Road.

Citi
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

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Media Enquiries
James Griffiths, 852-2868-7668, james.a.griffiths@citi.com