– Stanbic Bank Ghana and the Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), have
joined hands to promote tourism and trade between Ghana and
China.
Under an initiative
called ‘I Go Ghana’ loyalty programme, Chinese tourists who visit Ghana will
receive discounts and special offers whenever they use ICBC cards at selected
travel, hospitality and lifestyle merchants in the country.
The first part of the
programme would be launched on Monday, October 15, 2018 in Accra.
The programme is
jointly run by the Standard Bank Group, Stanbic Bank Ghana’s parent group, and
the Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) with support from the Ghana
Tourism Authority.
Speaking before the
launch of the programme in Accra, Lincoln Mali, Standard Bank’s Group Head of
Card and Emerging Payments, said: “China has emerged as a key economic partner
for Africa in recent years and through the ‘I Go Ghana’ programme, Standard
Bank wants to strengthen relations between Ghana and China through trade and
tourism. Such an arrangement, we believe is good for the tourism industry and
the economies of the two countries”.
To further support
this initiative and strengthen the Africa-China corridor, we as Stanbic, have
been hard at work to enable the acceptance of Union Pay International cards on
our Point of Sale devices. Customers travelling from China can now use their
standard issue Union Pay International card to make purchases at all
participating I-Go Ghana merchants – acceptance of this Scheme will be rolled
out over the duration of 2018 into 2019 to non-participating merchants.
With China as the
world’s number one source market for tourism with 129 million outbound trips in
2017 and Chinese tourists would boost the economy of any country that they may
visit.
According to Akwasi
Agyeman, CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority, “We are excited about this
initiative by Stanbic Bank Ghana and the Industrial Commercial Bank of China
(ICBC).
China remains an
important in-bound destination for us at the Ghana Tourism Authority and we
have taken appropriate steps and measures to ensure that the local industry is
well equipped to host the Chinese traveller. This collaboration further opens
up the opportunity for us to enter the Chinese market, and ensure that Ghana
remains an interesting and enticing destination.”
“Ghana, being our
home, we believe in driving her growth. That is why we see this partnership to
bring to the people of Ghana and China closer as an opportunity to unlock the
untapped potential that contact between the two countries offers. Deepening
Ghana-Sino contacts will undoubtedly deliver even more benefits to the economy
and underline our total commitment to driving growth,” said Alhassan Andani,
Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank Ghana.
Deputy CEO of ICBC
Africa, Mr. Gang Sun stated that with the further development of ICBC
internationalization, the bank would continue to provide its superior products
and services in overseas market. Since the launch of the first season of
China-Africa transnational promotion, I Go South Africa in November 2017, as
well as the I Go Kenya in May 2018, ICBC, has provided more convenient
transnational services to the credit card holders in Africa.
In the future, ICBC
and Standard Bank Group will continue to promote the “I Go” campaigns in other
African countries to provide new opportunities for economic tourism Exchanges
between China and Africa.
GNA