STANDARD CHARTERED, which earns most of its income from Asia, posted an 11 per cent increase in first-half profit, escaping the interest-rate rigging scandal that has embroiled its UK competitors.
Net income rose to $2.86 billion from $2.57 billion a year earlier, the bank said in a statement yesterday. The lender is set to meet its full-year target for “double-digit” growth in revenue and earnings per share, ceo Peter Sands said.
Standard Chartered, Britain’s second-biggest bank by market value, plans to hire more than 1,000 people this year in emerging markets as lenders such as HSBC cut jobs and sell assets. Because of its focus on Asia, the lender has not been tainted by allegations of Libor-manipulation or the mis- selling of derivatives and payment-protection plans that have hit London-based competitors such as Barclays. The lender will have 100 branches each in China and India by the time it reports full-year results in early 2013, according to the statement. Last week it opened its 90th China outlet in Dalian, and has 94 branches in India.
In Africa, the bank said it will have about 250 outlets in the next couple of years, up from 183 now. – (Bloomberg)
