Standard Chartered, the UK-based banking behemoth, is planning to raise approximately £1 billion in new shares sale, as it reported a 5% rise in first half net profit. The increase was mainly due to a rise in trading and financing activity from corporate clients – reported Wall Street Journal.
Net profit for the first half ended June 30 was $1.88 billion, up from $1.79 billion in 2008. Pretax profit, a measure closely observed by analysts in the UK, increased 10% to $2.84 billion, surpassing an average company estimate of $2.49 billion, reported the newspaper. However, Consumer Banking registered a 57% decline from $802 million to $348 million, as most of the Asian economies are experiencing a downturn and bad debts have surged.
Peter Sands, CEO, Standard Chartered, said: The share placing is absolutely not to build a warchest for a big acquisition, but was to give the bank firepower to take advantage of opportunities as Asian economies and customers recovered. It’s about staying ahead of the game, Sands said on a conference call. Given that we see Asia having a shorter and shallower recession than other parts of the world, our clients are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, and we want to anticipate that and support them, reported Reuters.
