European colonisation of Southeast Asia tightening Turkish control and eventual shut down of the Eastern Mediterranean gateways into Asia first prompted Portuguese, and later Spanish and Dutch sea voyagers to ship around Africa in search of new trading routes and business opportunities. Niccolò de' Conti arrived in Southeast Asia as the earliest documented European in the early 15th century. By 1498 Vasco da Gama, who had sailed round the Cape of Good Hope, established the first direct sea route from Europe to India. Central among the various plannings was to establish direct and permanent trade of the highly priced spices, that were native to Southeast
Bank of Africa (Red Sea) group acquired Banque Indosuez in 1996. In August 2010 the BOA Group, commenced negotiations to acquire BIMR, negotiations that came to fruition in on 22 December 2010 when the bank became Bank of Africa Red Sea (BOA-Red Sea). Bank of Africa (Red Sea) Bank of Africa (BOA Red Sea) is the second largest bank in Djibouti and is part of Mali based Bank of Africa Group. Bank of Africa Group acquired Djibouti based Banque Indosuez Mer Rouge in 2010. BOA Red Sea operates seven branches in Djibouti and a representative office in Addis Ababa. The firm traces its presence in