DBS and Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) – Southeast Asia’s largest bank and a leading financial institution in Saudi Arabia respectively – have announced a strategic partnership to expand their trade settlement, financing and regional currency clearing solutions. This partnership aims to promote trade and capital flows across the growing Asia-Gulf Cooperation Council[1] (GCC) economic corridor – by providing greater support for businesses and end-consumers seeking to conduct trade, investments and remittances.
Economic flows between Asia and GCC nations have been increasing over the years. For instance, in 2023, trade between Southeast Asia and GCC nations amounted to around USD 130.7 billion (SGD 169.4 billion)[2]. An additional USD 50 billion (SGD 64.8 billion) in new trade flows between both regions is expected to be generated by 2027[3] . In addition, trade volumes between China and GCC nations are projected to double to USD 1.9 trillion (SGD 2.46 trillion) by 2035[4]. Saudi Arabia is expected to play a pivotal role in the growth of the Asia-GCC corridor as the largest economy in the GCC.
This partnership was formalised with a memorandum of understanding signed at the sidelines of Sibos, a global financial services conference organised by Swift – the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services.
Meeting growing demand for Asia-GCC trade and payments
To help businesses capture trade opportunities more effectively across both regions, DBS and BSF will explore leveraging each other’s unique strengths and networks by providing trade financing solutions to each other’s clients. These solutions include letters of credit, bankers’ guarantees and trade loans. In addition, both banks will explore jointly financing client transactions to better manage risk and expand their respective financing capacities.
To meet the growing demand for seamless cross-border payments, both banks will explore utilising each other’s clearing networks for local and regional currency clearing. This includes DBS' access to seven of Asia's largest currency clearing corridors[5] and BSF's access to Saudi Riyal clearing services.
In addition, BSF will explore using DBS GlobeSend to enable its customers to make same-day cross-border payments across DBS’ global payout network of over 1 billion accounts and digital wallets. DBS GlobeSend is a cross-border payment solution that enables banks and non-bank financial institutions to make cost-effective, fast and transparent payments, covering 60 currencies across over 100 markets.
Sriram Muthukrishnan, Group Head of Global Transaction Services Product Management, DBS, said: "Asia and the Middle East are growing increasingly interconnected as businesses, investors and talent pursue opportunities in these dynamic markets. Our partnership with BSF builds upon DBS’ connectivity across Asia and our track record in providing secure and efficient access to trade financing and cross-border payments. This aims to facilitate the seamless flow of goods, services and capital across this corridor – ultimately benefitting businesses, end-consumers and communities.”
Faisal Darwish, Head of Institutional Banking, BSF, said: “At Banque Saudi Fransi, we see this partnership with DBS as a significant step in strengthening financial connectivity between the GCC and Asia. By combining our networks and expertise, we aim to deliver innovative solutions in trade financing and cross-border payments. This collaboration will open new opportunities for businesses and consumers alike, while reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s role in driving growth across this dynamic economic corridor.”