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Bridging urban and rural economic and social divides

Our development program for pomelo farmers in rural western china is helping to improve farming practices, product marketing and promotion.

Patrick Zhu,
Project Manager, China Rural Bank

Bridging urban and rural economic and social divides

There is much we can do to improve banking access and financial inclusion, such as providing fair, safe and affordable products and services, particularly among the unbanked and under-banked.

We are working with governments, multilateral and community organisations in a number of markets to improve financial capability and inclusion among under-served and rural communities – at the same time developing new markets and customers.

“As the only foreign bank in our county, ANZ Rural Bank has injected energy to the economic development of this area since it was established two years ago. In addition, they took initiative to improve the life of farmers through the pomelo project. I do appreciate their efforts and contribution.”

Mr. Li Zhixiong,
Secretary
Liangping County Party Committee
China

SUPPORTING RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN WESTERN CHINA

Our Chongqing Liangping ANZ Rural Bank is providing access to much needed new lending for investment in households, farms and businesses across rural western China.

Traditionally banks in the Asia Pacific region have operated with low loan-to-deposit ratios (LDRs) of around 20% – meaning that for every US$ equivalent attracted in deposits, only 20 cents is subsequently committed for lending to individuals and businesses.

This is quite low by international standards and has led to strong competition for available lending.

Since opening our China rural bank in late 2009, a key priority has been to attract both deposit and loan customers, resulting in our LDR growing strongly to more than 90% – well above the industry average for the region.

We are also supporting rural growth in western China through our pomelo industry development program for farmers. More than 4,000 farmers have benefited from the training and skills development program since it was launched two years ago.

The program consists of a series of workshops to help pomelo farmers improve their farming practices, product marketing and promotion.

Feedback from farmers has been very positive. Recently, Zhang Wenhui, a pomelo farmer and the General Manager of Liangping Hexing Longtan Pomelo Cooperative said that the pomelo development program had benefited the industry in many ways.

“The lectures have provided us with advanced technical knowledge and sales skills, helping to increase the production of pomelos and get a higher unit price for our pomelos. It has also broadened our horizons on pomelo products.

Through providing the technical knowledge about how to make pomelo tea, pomelo rice etc, we can now make some money from pomelos with unfavorable appearance, which were previously worth nothing,” Zhang Wenhui said.

The program has also been acknowledged by the Liangping Government Agricultural Committee as contributing to the strong growth of the Liangping pomelo industry over the past year.

We are also supporting broader industries in the region, such as aquaculture, livestock, tea, medicine culture and silk worm production, leveraging our extensive rural finance experience to support and improve economic sustainability among rural farmers.

SUPPORTING NATION BUILDING IN TIMOR-LESTE

Thousands of people living in isolated rural areas of Timor-Leste will be able to access electricity for the first time when a new power plant is built with our support.

This year we have provided a US$170m letter of credit facility to the Timor-Leste Government, which will be used to support the construction of a much needed dual-fired (liquefied natural gas and heavy oil) power plant. This investment is part of the government’s broader five-year nation building plan, to spend around US$2.6b on public infrastructure.

Providing an accessible and reliable power supply to the people of Timor-Leste is a key priority for the government towards improving living conditions and encouraging local and foreign investment in the country.

We are also supporting two Timor-Leste micro finance institutions (MFIs), Moris Rasik and Tuba Rae Metin, by providing funding and non-funding assistance.

Both MFIs deliver micro-savings and group loans to over 19,000 people living in poverty – mainly women in rural areas. The extension of credit through making small loans, usually US$200 or less, has proven to be effective in helping people to establish or expand a small, self-sustaining business. Our support will help both MFIs build capacity and remain sustainable.

KEY GOALS WE SET OUT TO ACHIEVE IN 2011

KEY GOALS WE SET OUT TO ACHIEVE IN 2011

PERFORMANCE

Implement innovative products and services to support social, economic and financial inclusion.

 Achieved or on track to achieve

Increase availability of our mobile phone savings and money transfer service in Cambodia to 185 districts and assist customers to save a total of $450,000 by reducing the cost of remittances from urban to regional areas.

 Partially achieved or in progress

Achieve 15% growth in deposits and micro-loans in our Rural banking business in Fiji.

 Partially achieved or in progress

Achieve an above industry average loan-to-deposit ratio for ANZ Rural Bank in Liangping China
and extend our agricultural education program to a further 2,000 farmers in the region.

 Achieved or on track to achieve
  • Achieved or on track to achieve
  • Partially achieved or in progress
  • Did not achieve

For full commentary on progress against targets for 2011, and to view our key goals in 2012 visit: anz.com/cr-targets