Botswana: Bank Offers New Investment Product
Gaborone — Clients of Standard Chartered Bank Botswana should brace themselves for exciting times with the launch of the offshore fixed income proposition under its wealth management portfolio.
Speaking at a breakfast launch with clients and media, the head of wealth management for Botswana and Southern Africa at Standard Chartered Bank, Mr Ali Zayem said he was proud of the innovative product proposition.
“The offshore bonds offer a unique opportunity for investors to directly access a range of investment grade bonds comprising of Shariah compliant Islamic bonds (Sukuks), perpetuals, sovereigns, fixed rate and variable rate bonds,” he said.
He said the diverse offering provides investors a wide variety of choices to customise their investment portfolio to suit their financial objectives.
He said the bank was proud to be the first in the market to make the investment instruments available to retail customers through a local distribution channel.
Mr Zayem further said the investment instruments were usually only available through private banking or offshore banking channels, but with this new proposition Standard Bank presents an opportunity for clients to continue to seek real returns in alternative investments.
He went on to say that the primary purpose of offering fixed income instruments was to service clients who typically have low to medium risk appetite and were looking for stable returns with an investment vehicle that offers potentially higher yields than normal terms deposits, and want the potential of capital gains while mitigating risk and allowing for adequate portfolio diversification.
“Investing offshore can play a key role in helping to diversify from the narrow local market with minimal market capitalisation. An offshore allocation is key to providing a complete solution, not only to reduce volatility through diversification, but also increase potential returns,” he said.
