From 16 July, Nepal's largest corporate taxpayer will have a new name. Standard Chartered PLC (Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank Ltd) bought out the 50 percent stake the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited had in Nepal's ANZ Grindlays Bank in July 2000. "It's just a change in name. The services will be the same, even better," says Rajeev Kulkarni, general manager of the newly-named Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited. Nepal Bank Ltd owns 33 percent and the public, 17 percent of the bank.

After this acquisition, Standard Chartered, which focuses on emerging markets in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, is a leader in banking in the Middle East and South Asia Region. The acquisition is a win-win situation, says Jeffrey Cox, CEO of Nepal Grindlays Bank Ltd. "While Standard Chartered Bank's expertise is in the emerging markets, ANZ, focussed on Australia and New Zealand, had limits in understanding the markets." Standard Chartered has a network of 570 offices in more than 50 countries. "Almost 70 percent of the bank's income is from emerging markets so our commitment is strong," says Kulkarni.