Asiamoney New Silk Road Finance Awards

No other international bank commits to the Belt and Road Initiative as HSBC does.

Kazakhstan is at the heart of the Belt and Road Initiative, both geographically and strategically. The project was first announced by China’s president, Xi Jinping, in the country’s capital Nur-Sultan in 2013; two of the six trade corridors pass through the country.

Citi’s presence in 105 of the Belt and Road countries – particularly in Europe and Latin America – puts it in a perfect position to connect Chinese clients.

For Chinese banks, the Belt and Road Initiative has long gone beyond simply providing funding for overseas infrastructure projects. In the process of redefining the project, Bank of China is contributing its own understanding of BRI as a Chinese bank.

When awards like these are being handed out, HSBC should, just by dint of its long history and presence in China and southeast Asia, be a perennial contender. Yet any lender, whatever its size and history, still has to do the legwork, a fact that the UK-based bank knows full well.

Maybank has been consistently successful at inserting itself into local and regional BRI deals.

Siam Commercial Bank has built strong and sturdy links with Chinese lenders and corporates, working hard to ensure it is a key conduit in bilateral trade in general, and in local BRI deals.

No one in southeast Asia can hold a candle to Standard Chartered, the only international bank present in all 10 Asean markets, and with a history in the region that stretches back 150 years.