International Banking : :StanChart to axe 80-100 branches under cost-cutting plan

Reuters : London :11 Nov 2014

Standard Chartered plans to cut 80-100 retail branches in 2015 as part of its plan to save $400 million a year to improve profitability, according to slides the Asia-focused bank released on an investor roadshow.

Standard Chartered said in the slides its retail bank's potential returns were being held back by high costs. It had 1,248 branches at the end of June.

The bank is holding a three-day roadshow for analysts and investors to try to convince them it can revive the bank's fortunes after three profit warnings this year and several other problems.

StanChart India $590 mn share sale fully covered

Source :28 May 2010, 1643 hrs IST,REUTERS



MUMBAI: UK bank Standard Chartered's sale of Indian shares worth up to about $590 million was fully covered on its final day of bookbuilding after volatile markets and a new regulation weighed on demand during its first three days.

Standard Chartered's Indian Depositary Receipt (IDR) issue is the first, and the emerging markets-focused bank has said the offering is aimed more at building its brand and presence in its second-largest market than about raising funds.

The offer was being closely tracked by other foreign firms which have large consumer presence in Asia's third-largest economy and may also be considering share issues to raise their profiles.

Investors had bid for 1.28 times the 204 million IDRs on offer to the public as of mid-afternoon, stock exchange data showed, with most bids towards the low end of its 100-115 rupee price range. The public portion of the offer had been only about 11 percent covered at the end of Thursday.

Every 10 IDRs represents one share of Standard Chartered Plc. Based on Thursday's London closing price of 1,682 pence, and the currency conversion, that valued each IDR at about 114 rupees as of Friday morning, towards the high end of the offering's price range.

"The book is building around 104-105 rupees. This is at a substantial discount to the London stock price, which is why we saw good subscription on the last day," said Arun Kejriwal, director of research firm KRIS.

Standard Chartered was selling a total of 240 million IDRs, of which 36 million were allocated to six anchor investors at 104 rupees apiece on Monday. Indian share sales often see few orders until the final day, when investors have a better indication of how the deal will be priced.

A rule requiring institutional investors to pay 100 percent of the value of their share applications, which took effect on May 1, also kept a lid on early demand as big investors did not want to tie up funds sooner than was necessary.

FIIs shun Standard Chartered IDR issue

 Source :Ravi Samalad : ML :May 25,2010

The retail investor category was subscribed 0.01 times while the FII category received zero bids

Standard Chartered Plc’s Indian depository receipts (IDR) issue, which hit the market today, has received a lacklustre response from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and retail investors.

Retail investors bid for 7.22 lakh shares out of the total quota of 7.20 crore shares. The retail category was subscribed 0.01 times. Retail investors have been given a 5% discount in this issue. The Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) category received zero bids.

The Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) category was subscribed 0.12 times from 8.40 crore shares reserved under the category. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bid for 86.95 lakh shares while mutual funds (MFs) bid for 17.10 lakh shares.

Similarly, the Non-Institutional Investor (NII) quota saw a lukewarm response. It was subscribed 0.0009 times, and received bids for just 40,800 shares from individuals. Even corporates have shied away from investing on the first day, which saw zero bids.

Employees subscribed for just 1,600 shares from the reserved quota of 48 lakh shares. The company has 20.40 crore shares on offer, including 3.60 crore shares for anchor investors at a price of Rs104 per share. The company has 16 anchor investors on board. Overall, the issue was subscribed 0.05 times on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The company is planning to raise Rs2,400 crore-Rs2,760 crore through the IDR issue with a price band of Rs100-Rs115. The issue opened today and closes on 28 May 2010.

SEBI plays double standards on Standard Chartered IDR issue

Source :Moneylife: May24,2010

While the big multinational Standard Chartered Bank was allowed to blank out disclosure of litigation, then why were Indian banks such as Lakshmi Vilas Bank and United Bank of India not allowed this favour?

Even as the first-ever Indian Depository Receipt (IDR) issue of Standard Chartered Plc is set to open in the Indian capital markets on 25 May 2010, questions about its non-disclosure of numerous litigations still remain open. The bank’s name was involved in the 1992 Harshad Mehta securities scam, which rocked the Indian capital market. However, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has turned a blind eye over all its pending litigations and has quietly passed the red herring prospectus (RHP), while Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd and United Bank of India have had to disclose all their pending litigations.

Standard Chartered has been taking the stand that the litigation is not ‘material’. The question then remains, why did SEBI seek a disclosure from these two Indian banks?

Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd, in which the Harshad Mehta Group held 2,700 shares in connection with the 1992 securities scam, disclosed the case in its draft red herring prospectus which reads: “The Bank has 14 cases as on date involving title suits relating to shares between various parties wherein the Bank is a proforma party and awaiting decision of the said courts. Noteworthy to mention is a case filed in the Sub Court under Special Court (TORTS) Act, 1992 by the Custodian in 1996 for shares held by (the) Harshad Mehta Group totalling 2,700 shares held by various parties and the matter is still pending.”

Similarly, United Bank of India, which hit the market earlier this year, disclosed all its cases against its chairman and directors, civil proceedings, labour and employment cases and other cases related to the bank. There was no mention of the bank’s involvement in the scam. The RHP had one case filed by SEBI against the bank, 18 civil cases, approximately 162 cases pertaining to labour and employment issues (as on 1 March 2010) and three other cases.

“As of the date of this Draft Red Herring Prospectus, neither the Company, any member of the Group, any Director, or any material associate of the Company (emphasis ours) are involved in any material governmental, legal or arbitration proceedings or litigation and the Company is not aware of any pending or threatened material governmental, legal or arbitration proceedings or litigation relating to the Company, any member of the Group, any Director or any material associate which, in either case, may have a significant effect on the performance of the Group, and there are no liabilities or defaults (including arrears and potential liabilities) in relation to such material proceedings or litigation which would be required to be disclosed under the SEBI Regulations,” states page 419 of Standard Chartered’s red herring prospectus.

However there are at least half-a-dozen cases filed against the bank by the Enforcement Directorate in 2002.

Earlier, Arijit De, head of external communications of Standard Chartered India replied to an email query by Moneylife: “The IDRs represent the shares of Standard Chartered (SC) plc, UK, the ultimate parent company of Standard Chartered Bank, India. In accordance with the disclosure requirements under SEBI Regulations, IDR Rules, other applicable laws and international practice, SC plc has made appropriate disclosures of all material issues in the draft offer document filed with SEBI. We have nothing further to add beyond what is disclosed in the DRHP.”

Moneylife had previously reported about this issue and had raised the matter with SEBI but we have still not received any response.

StanChart gets bids from 6 anchor investors

Source :business Line Bureau,May24,2010

 Mumbai, May 24 The Standard Chartered Indian Depository Receipts (IDR) issue fetched subscription from six anchor investors at Rs 104 a piece.

This is closer towards the lower end of the price band which has been fixed at Rs 100-115 for the issue.


At these prices the foreign bank can raise Rs 2,400 crore at the lower end and Rs 2,760 crore at the upper end of the price band. At Rs 104 an IDR, the bank has raised Rs 374 crore through the anchor investors with whom 3.6 crore receipts were placed.

This represents 15 per cent of the total issue. The price band has been benchmarked to the stock price of the bank on the LSE at close of Friday. On Friday the shares of Standard Chartered closed at œ16.09. Each share represents 10 IDRs.

Reliance Mutual Fund subscribed for 1.05 crore IDRs, ICICI Prudential AMC for 96 lakh, HDFC AMC 60 lakh, Franklin Templeton AMC 48 lakh, Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund 35.5 lakh and Sundaram BNP Paribas for 14 lakh. The IDR issue will open to the general public on Tuesday and will close on May 28.

Retail investors and eligible employees subscribing to IDRs and whose bid amount does not exceed Rs 1 lakh, will get a 5 per cent discount to the final issue price. Retail investors have been allotted 30 per cent of the IDRs.

Qualified institutional buyers have been reserved 50 per cent of the issue and High Networth Individuals 18 per cent. "Allotment of the IDRs is scheduled to be completed by June 7, 2010 with listing on BSE and NSE shortly thereafter," the bank said in a press release on Sunday.

The shares of Standard Chartered are listed on both the Hong Kong and London stock exchanges. Standard Chartered PLC has a market capitalisation of more than $50 billion and in 2009 reported a profit before tax of $5.15 billion.

The Book Running Lead Managers (BRLM) are UBS Securities India Private Ltd and Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Private Ltd (as Global Coordinators); and JM Financial Consultants Private Ltd, DSP Merrill Lynch Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd and SBI Capital Markets Ltd. Standard Chartered - STCI Capital Markets Ltd is a co-book running lead manager.

tania@thehindu.co.in

Standard Chartered PLC IDR opens today May 25 2010

 

Standard Chartered PLC which is listed in London stock exchange is trading at 1633 GBp , ITs opening its IDR issue today in India and StanChart will issue 240 million IDRs, with every 10 IDRs representing one share of Standard Chartered Plc.StanChart has fixed the price band for its sale of Indian Depositary Receipts (IDRs) at INR100-INR115 per share.They have told they will give additional discount of five percent to retail investors for its IDRs based on whats the rate the value is fixed at.

Standard Chartered PLC IDR
Symbol – Series	STAN EQ
Issue Period	May 25, 2010 to May 28, 2010
Post issue Modification Period	29-May-10
Issue Size	240,000,000 INDIAN DEPOSITORY RECEIPTS (including Anchor investor portion of 36,000,000 IDRs)
Issue Type	100% Book Building
Price Range	Rs 100 to Rs 115
Tick Size	Re. 1/-
Market Lot	200 IDRs
Minimum Order Quantity	200 IDRs
Maximum Subscription Amount for Retail Investor	Rs.100000
IPO Market Timings	10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
Global Coordinators and Book Running Lead Managers	UBS Securities India Private Limited and Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Private Limited
Co-Book Running Lead Manager	Standard Chartered ? STCI Capital Markets Limited
Categories	FI ,IC ,MF ,FII ,OTH ,CO ,IND ,NOH ,and EMP
No. of Cities with Bidding Centers	66
Name of the registrar	Karvy Computershare Private Limited

StanC launches IDR issue to raise Rs 2700cr

Source :TNN, May 20, 2010, 01.24am IST

NEW DELHI: UK-based Standard Chartered (SC) has launched its first ever Indian Depository Receipts (IDR) issue to enhance its market visibility and brand profile in India. 

The foreign bank, which has a market capitalization of $50 billion at the London Stock Exchange plans to raise anything between Rs 2,400 and 2,700 crore through the issue, which is slated to open on May 25 and will close on May 28. The money raised will be repatriated to its parent company in UK.

The price band will be fixed and declared on May 24, during which the closing price of SC as on London Stock Exchange will be taken into consideration. On Wednesday, its share price on LSE appreciated by 1.5% to $2.49.

"The issue price will be at a discount of 5% for the retail investors, over institutional investors," group executive director Jaspal Singh Bindra said. The bank is offering 24 crore IDRs. Every 10 IDR will be representing one share of Standard Chartered. Foreign companies raise funds by issuing IDRs having underlying equity shares.

The StanC IDR will be listed both on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, and investors will have the option to convert them into shares after one year.

Bindra said that India is the focus region for the bank, which plans to increase its headcount in India by 2,500 people during the current year to 20,000.

Stanchart to float 1st IDR for over Rs 2,200 cr; list in June

Source:Rakesh Pathak & Joyeeta Dey/PTI / New Delhi March 30, 2010, 11:31 IST

In what would be the first case of an MNC raising capital from India, UK's Stanchart today announced that it would float Indian Depository Receipts to mop up over $500 million (Rs 2,250 crore) and list the same on bourses by June.


Seeking to float 220 million IDRs, the UK-based banking major moved market regulator Sebi for approval of the scheme, guidelines for which were cleared way back in 2004. The bank had earlier said that the issue size could be between $500 million and $750 million.

"We have a strong presence in India. We are the oldest foreign bank in the country. We have good business and IDR is to give opportunity to Indian investors to participate in the global story," Stanchart PLC's CEO (India and South Asia) Neeraj Swaroop told PTI immediately after filing for IDR with Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Stanchart began its Indian operations in April 1858 in Calcutta (now Kolkata).

Asked about the pricing of the instrument, he said that at present Stanchart PLC was being traded at 17 pounds a share but "we have not decided on the conversion rate."

While the banking major is looking for mopping up at least $500 million, it has not fixed any upper limit, Swaroop said, adding that he would also want the employees to participate in the issue.

The proceeds would be repatriated to the global entity for normal business activities and there was no shortage of capital adequacy.

"We have not faced any shortage of capital in the past. We will not face (in the future). India can get capital if required," he said.

He, however, said that no decision had been taken for fixing a quota for employees and it would be decided when the issue nears completion and would depend on a host of issues like retail response.

Asserting that India, which contributes to 20 per cent of global profits, would continue to be the focus area, he said that this year the bank would enter a host of specialised corporate equity services to assist IPOs, brokerage and equity solution to the Indian industry.

He said that Stanchart had posted a significant $one billion profit in 2009 and added that the outlook was good. He, however,
refrained from giving any numbers for the future but pointed out that profits for the last five years had been growing
at an average of 41 per cent, while income was rising at an average of 30 per cent.