Standard Chartered finds richer rewards overseas
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Your support makes all the difference.Standard Chartered, the Asia-based bank, yesterday issued an upbeat forecast for the coming year, in sharp contrast to its London-based rivals who have remained gloomy about prospects for banks in the UK and Europe.
The bank, which is listed in London but operates in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, said pre-tax profits rose 16 per cent to $1.26bn (£840m) in the year to 31 December and said it had cut bad-debt provisions in the second half of the year. Its shares rose 7 per cent to 708p.
Last week Lloyds TSB and Barclays reported a drop in profits and an increase in bad debt.
Mervyn Davies, chief executive of Standard Chartered, said: "There is nothing to suggest 2003 should not be the same as 2002. There should be resilient growth in Asia, with China's and India's economies growing well." The encouraging prospects for the bank's main markets are only tempered by global uncertainties, chiefly the possibility of a war against Iraq, he added.
Standard Chartered is pressing ahead with its expansion plans in India, currently its third-largest market, and China, where it wants to take advantage of the planned opening up of the market to foreign banks in 2007.
"India is profit today and we are also building a base in China for profit tomorrow," Mr Davies said.
The bank also experienced strong growth in Africa, where profits rose 30 per cent outside Zimbabwe. However, difficulties in that troubled country forced Standard Chartered to take a $50m hit to its profits. Mr Davies said the bank would continue to operate in Zimbabwe.
He said the bank would not persevere in Latin America. Having slashed Standard Chartered's exposure by half to less than $1bn in Argentina in the last 12 months, the bank plans to dramatically reduce its presence across the region.
The bank will gain a new chairman, Bryan Sanderson, when the incumbent, Sir Patrick Gillam, retires in May. Mr Sanderson is chairman of the privately-owned healthcare group Bupa and also chairman of Sunderland Football Club.
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