Zenith Bank marks Chinese New Year with tea-tasting event
Zenith Bank Ghana, hosted a tea-tasting event in Accra to mark the 2015 Chinese New Year, also known as the Year of the Green Wood Sheep/Goat.
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Working in partnership with the Chinese Embassy in Ghana, through the Economic and Commercial Counsellor’s Office of the Embassy and the Confucius Institute of the University of Ghana, the event, featured an ambience created by a sublime mixture of Zenith Bank’s red brand image with the symbolic red colour of China.
Attendees included dignitaries from the Chinese Embassy, led by Mrs Sun Baohong, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Ghana; officials of the Confucius Institute, led by the Director, Dr Mei Meilian; representatives of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and other members of the Chinese community in Ghana.
There were songs and dance performances by students of the Confucius Institute, which eventually led to a climax during which one of the students gave an elaborate performance of the traditional Chinese tea-making process, after which all the guests were invited to taste the various types of Chinese tea available.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Ghana, Mr Daniel Asiedu, described the Chinese community as “strategic partners” of the bank, and said the aim of the tea-tasting event was to promote the Chinese tea culture in Ghana.
“The Chinese community has contributed significantly to the growth and development of this nation and by extension, to Zenith Bank Ghana. Therefore, we have reciprocated by sponsoring Chinese Chamber of Commerce events over the years. This is because we consider the Chinese community in Ghana as strategic partners.
As a bank, we have always believed that it is very important to be innovative in our collaborations not only to differentiate ourselves, but to add significant value to our customers and society in general. This year we deem it fit to celebrate the New Year with you by connecting with an aspect of your culture which you hold so dearly,” he said.
The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs Sun Baohong, praised Zenith Bank’s strong record of innovation and its sterling financial performance, saying that “Zenith Bank is a very renowned bank with serious people who do serious business.”
She likened Zenith Bank’s rapid growth to the rapidly developing relations between Ghana and China, which led to an increase in bilateral trade between the two countries rising to a new record of US$5.6 billion in 2014 and Ghana’s exports to China growing by 20 per cent to almost US$1.5 billion.
She said China looked forward to advancing its cooperation with Ghana in 2015 and that Zenith Bank could play a pivotal role in helping to realise this objective.
Mrs Baohong also said Zenith Bank was well placed to offer professional advice to Chinese companies on how to tap opportunities and manage the risks inherent in doing business in Ghana.
The Director of the Confucius Institute in Ghana, Dr Mei Meilian, said the institute sought to promote the Chinese culture and the teachings of Confucius, the country’s most revered philosopher. Zenith Bank’s tea-tasting event was, therefore, beneficial to the work of the institute, she added.
Currently the Best Bank in Customer Care in Ghana, Zenith Bank Ghana, is a subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc of Nigeria, which The Banker Magazine has ranked as the best bank in West Africa. Zenith Bank Ghana posted pre-tax earnings of GH¢200.1 million in 2014, equivalent to a growth of 86 per cent over the 2013 out-turn.
Zenith Plc is in the world’s top 300 banks ranking and sixth in Africa. It has listings in Nigeria and the UK with subsidiaries in Ghana, The Gambia and Sierra Leone and representative offices in China and South Africa.