Japan's Mizuho to cooperate with StanBank-sources

JOHANNESBURG/TOKYO Feb 19 (Reuters) - Japan's Mizuho Financial Group will sign an agreement to cooperate with South Africa's Standard Bank in corporate lending as early as this week, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The non-exclusive agreement will focus on bringing more of Mizuho's Japanese clients to Africa and Standard Bank's clients to Japan, said one of the people, both of whom declined to be identified because the information is not public.

A spokesman for Mizuho declined to comment. A Standard Bank spokesman said it would "not be appropriate" to comment. (Reporting by David Dolan and Taiga Uranaka; Editing by David Cowell)