Fri, 07 Aug 1998

Standard Chartered profits

JAKARTA (JP): The London-based Standard Chartered Plc announced yesterday that its first half 1998 profit before provisions rose 27 percent to 605 million pounds sterling (US$986.15 million) over the corresponding period last year.

The bank said in a statement that it increased the interim dividend by 19 percent to 6.25 pence per share.

"The higher revenues which we have achieved as economic conditions worsened right across Asia show the quality of our management and risk systems," said chairman Sir Patrick Gillam.

He added that many factors would affect the speed of recovery of the bank's principal markets in Asia, with each country facing different challenges.

"The current turbulence leads us to be cautious about the short term, recognizing that we face a challenging environment. However, we remain confident about both the fundamentals of Asia and the long term prospects for Standard Chartered," Gillam said. (rei)