Standard Chartered PLC, a British bank that generates the majority of earnings in Asia, said it posted “very strong” profit and revenue in the first quarter owing to improved performance at its consumer and corporate units.
Profit was “higher” than in the first quarter of last year, the London-based company said in a statement yesterday. It didn’t provide a figure for earnings.
Standard Chartered plans to raise as much as US$750 million by selling its stock in India, which last year became the second of its markets after Hong Kong to post US$1 billion in profit. The bank follows JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc and UBS AG in reporting rising profit for the first three months of the year.
The bank “has had a very strong start to the year, despite margin headwinds and increasing competitive pressures, with a record quarter in terms of both profit and income,” the statement said.
Standard Chartered’s net income rose to US$3.38 billion last year from US$3.24 billion in 2008, driven by corporate banking revenue.
The bank had “double-digit growth” in its consumer banking unit, adding secured loans and savings accounts, Standard Chartered said yesterday.
Wealth management revenue improved in Hong Kong, India and Singapore, the bank said.
The consumer unit had an “incremental improvement in loan impairment” and corporate banking had “no material new impairments charged in the period,” the bank said.
The bank is also hiring 500 employees in Hong Kong to increase revenue from private banking.
Costs increased at a faster rate than revenue in corporate banking as the company added employees in the second half of last year, Standard Chartered said.
The bank is adding analysts and traders in India and South Korea and also generates revenue from trade finance, payments and directly related foreign exchange hedging, it said.
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
The Presidential Office today thanked the US for enacting the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law, signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday, is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct such a review "not less than every five years." It must then submit an updated
STAYING ALERT: China this week deployed its largest maritime show of force to date in the region, prompting concern in Taipei and Tokyo, which Beijing has brushed off Deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority, the White House said in its National Security Strategy published yesterday, which also called on Japan and South Korea to increase their defense spending to help protect the first island chain. Taiwan is strategically positioned between Northeast and Southeast Asia, and provides direct access to the second island chain, with one-third of global shipping passing through the South China Sea, the report said. Given the implications for the US economy, along with Taiwan’s dominance in semiconductors, “deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” it said. However, the strategy also reiterated
Taiwanese prosecutors charged Tokyo Electron Ltd for failing to prevent staff from allegedly stealing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) trade secrets, escalating a dispute involving two Asian linchpins of a chip industry increasingly vital to national and economic security. Prosecutors indicted the Japanese company on four counts of contravening the Trade Secrets Act (營業秘密法) and the National Security Act (國家安全法), they said in a statement yesterday. They’re asking a local court to rule in favor of their request for Tokyo Electron pay a fine of up to NT$120 million (US$3.8 million) for failing in its duty to prevent the alleged
RSS