Corporate and investment bank Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) has established Rand Merchant Advisory Company, in Beijing, China, as part of its Asia-Africa corridor strategy, which positions it closer to Chinese corporates and capital flows at a time when bilateral trade between China and Africa has reached an all-time high of more than $350-billion.

The office will strengthen RMB’s on-the-ground advisory presence, and enable more direct engagement with Chinese multinationals involved in large-scale projects across Africa.

“The establishment of Rand Merchant Advisory in Beijing is an important milestone in our corridor growth strategy. It brings us closer to Chinese corporates to connect them more effectively with opportunity across our African network,” says RMB CEO Emrie Brown.

“Our focus is on helping clients navigate cross-border trade, transactional banking, foreign exchange and investment flows with the benefit of local insight and deep African market expertise.”

Building on its long-standing presence in China, which began with its representative office in Shanghai in 2007, Rand Merchant Advisory in Beijing marks the next phase of the bank’s in-market presence to deepen client engagement and support cross-border opportunities across the corridor.

Additionally, the expansion is intended to grow China-Africa corridor revenues over the medium term through a collaborative strategy between RMB and financial services firm FNB.

It brings together RMB’s investment banking, corporate finance and structured capital expertise with FNB’s transactional banking platform, which already services more than 4 000 Chinese business accounts across South Africa and other parts of Africa.

The corridor's growth continues to be anchored by monumental infrastructure investment and a rapidly evolving green energy landscape, says RMB.

Over the past decade, Chinese enterprises have built or renovated over 10 000 km of railway and 100 000 km of highways across Africa.

As China transitions under global climate agreements, significant opportunities have emerged for Rand Merchant Advisory to partner with Chinese contractors — who comprised roughly 70% of RMB’s concluded renewable-energy projects over the last few years — to lead sustainable finance initiatives across African markets, the bank adds.

Further, RMB has developed strategic institutional alliances, and has recently renewed its long-standing partnership with the China Construction Bank.

Rand Merchant Advisory aims to serve as the trusted banking partner for corporate clients navigating long-term growth across the Asia-Africa economic corridor.