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Standard Charteredi

Standard Chartered is headquartered in London, but around 90 per cent of its profits come from Africa, Asia and the Middle East as of 2012. Its name is derived from the two banks from which it was formed in a merger in 1969: The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, and Standard Bank of British South Africa.

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Standard Chartered, the British bank which is heavily exposed in emerging markets, posted its first decline in earnings in a decade due to volatile financial markets and tough conditions in South Korea, with analysts warning the bank still faces challenges in 2014.

Standard Chartered's decade of rising earnings is expected to come to an end when the emerging-markets-focused British bank delivers its results for last year on Wednesday.

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A controversial class of investment products may soon become widely available again after most banks in Hong Kong stopped selling them when tough restrictions on their sale were introduced this year.

Standard Chartered has warned of muted income growth this year due to the poor performance of its South Korean consumer banking business, with an operating loss of up to US$200 million.

Asia-focused British lender Standard Chartered has come to terms with the prospect of high single-digit income growth rates in the next few years, down from the double-digit rates of the past, due to the global economic slowdown and uncertainties about regulatory requirements on capital and liquidity.

Standard Chartered said its income and operating profit recorded low single-digit growth in the first nine months of the year on souring credit quality at its South Korean business and currency depreciation in emerging markets.

Beijing's move to eliminate bureaucratic approval processes to encourage foreign banks to open branches in the Shanghai free-trade zone has met with a lukewarm response.

HSBC and Standard Chartered are expected to be among the first batch of foreign banks to offer a wide range of banking services in the mainland's first free-trade zone, in Shanghai, with Beijing wanting to open its financial sector wider to foreign investment.

Standard Chartered expects its loan growth to slow for the rest of the year as fewer mainland companies come to Hong Kong for funds, with the liquidity crunch easing there.

Standard Chartered played down the risks to its business of a slowing global economy as it unveiled first-half pre-tax profits that included a painful US$1 billion write-down against its South Korean operations. It admitted that plans for double-digit income growth were unrealistic.

Standard Chartered Hong Kong and Shenzhen International, a Hong Kong-listed operator of logistics facilities and toll roads on the mainland, yesterday signed a one-year Qianhai cross-border bilateral loan agreement worth 100 million yuan (HK$125.51 million).

A deterioration in asset quality, especially in South Korea, and a 75 per cent jump in the bank levy in Britain helped drag Standard Chartered's performance in the first half of the year below its targets for revenue and income growth.

Standard Chartered plans to roll out more "digital branches" in Hong Kong to boost sales revenue and shorten the time customers queue for services. The digital branches will be equipped with tablet computers which will enable customers to access the internet and online banking accounts when waiting for the services, said Mary Huen Wai-yi, country head of consumer banking in Hong Kong.

HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered sold 1.5 billion yuan (HK$1.9 billion) worth of notes in Singapore yesterday in the first dim sum bond issuances since yuan-clearing became available in the city state.

Block, who has in recent months targeted Singapore commodity trader Olam International, is turning his focus to Standard Chartered after Olam became more responsive to investors and won increased backing from Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek.

The results came as a shock to the market, with Standard Chartered's share price in Hong Kong falling 3.53 per cent to close at HK$193.90, after rising as much as 2.4 per cent before the bank's results were announced.

Centaline Property Agency said last night that some owners had immediately slashed their asking prices. A 922 sq ft flat in Taikoo Shing was on offer for HK$13 million, a reduction of 7 per cent. Other owners dropped their prices by up to 10 per cent.

Yuan deposits in Hong Kong climbed in January to within 0.5 per cent of a record as investors revived bets on the currency's appreciation given an improving outlook for economic growth on the mainland. 

China's gross domestic product will grow at an annualised rate of about 8 per cent in the first quarter of this year, while the consumer price index will rise an annualised 2.6 per cent, the China Securities News said, quoting the State Information Centre, a leading government think tank.