Three finance magazines – The Asset, International Financing Review Asia (IFR Asia), and FinanceAsia – have named Standard Chartered ‘Best Asian Currency Bond House’, ‘Best Domestic Bond House’, and ‘Best Local Currency Bond House’ respectively at the close of 2007.
The accolades further lifted Standard Chartered’s formidable reputation as an innovative market leader and a reliable business partner, providing clients with the most effective capital raising solutions to achieve their financing and investment objectives.
“2007 was an excellent year for the Capital Markets team – it was our best year ever. We have delivered a number of ‘market firsts’ and ‘best in class’ transactions even at a time when markets have faced conditions of extreme stress and reduced liquidity,” says Brad Levitt, Group Head of Capital Markets, Standard Chartered Bank.
“The awards reaffirm Standard Chartered’s leading position in the local markets across bonds, securitisation and convertible bonds. We are ranked first in the Asian Local Currency Bond, League Table, first in Asset-Backed Securitisation, and second in Syndicated Loans .”
In addition to being “triple-crowned” in the area of bonds, Standard Chartered was awarded numerous other Country and Deal Awards, across bonds, securitisation, loan syndications and convertible bonds (See full list Awards section). At The Asset’s award dinner this month, Standard Chartered was presented the ‘Best Loan House’ award. This is the second year in a row that the Bank received the honours.
Notably, for the third year running, the bank was named ‘Best Securitisation House’ by The Asset, with the Sealane US$3 billion synthetic trade finance loans identified as the ‘Best Cross-Border Securitisation Deal’. FinanceAsia and Asiamoney echoed this as well by awarding Sealane the ‘Best Securitisation Deal of the Year’.
For syndications, despite the sub-prime troubles, Standard Chartered continued to help clients attract strong appetite from the market, validating its read on investors’ inclination, pricing and credit criteria. The £3.67-billion Tata-Corus acquisition financing is testament to the team’s capabilities as it provided Tata Steel the necessary flexibility of repayment and allowed them significant savings in the overall financing cost.
In the area of convertible bonds, it has demonstrated that it is a rising force as well. The US$875 million Convertible Bond offering for Tata Steel Ltd in India was conferred the ‘Best Convertible Bond’ from The Asset. This offering was one of the largest convertible bond offering in India ever.
The Asset, in its write-up about Standard Chartered’s wins, summed up: “Standard Chartered Bank managed to hold its own against stiff competition from perennial contenders HSBC and Citi, and even managed to increase its market share in all Asian currencies as it consistently secured new and repeat mandates in 2007.”
IFR Asia added: “Not only did Standard Chartered lead in the plain vanilla space, it also established a foothold in Islamic financing transactions in Malaysia that will stand it in good stead against the backdrop of the increasing popularity of Islamic financing from Asia, both into the region and into the burgeoning Middle East petrodollar bid.”
Looking ahead, Standard Chartered’s Capital Markets team will continue to move up the value chain in providing capital raising advice and fulfilling the increasingly sophisticated needs of its clients. This includes increasing the component of G3 and structured bonds, growing convertible bonds in G3 and local currency, and further expanding the bank’s Islamic financing footprint in Pakistan, Malaysia and the Middle East.
For further information, please contact:
Li Ling Soon
Corporate Affairs, Standard Chartered Bank
Tel: +65 6427 5103 or +65 9648 3854
E-mail: Soon.Li-Ling@standardchartered.com
OR
Corina Blum-Evans
Corporate Affairs, Standard Chartered Bank
Tel: +44 20 7280 7261 or +44 78 8169 4437
E-mail: corina.blum-evans@standardchartered.com
Note to editors
Standard Chartered – leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East
Standard Chartered PLC, listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, ranks among the top 25 companies in the FTSE-100 by market capitalisation. The London-headquartered group has operated for over 150 years in some of the world’s most dynamic markets, leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Its income and the number of employees have more than doubled over the last five years primarily as a result of organic growth and supplemented by acquisitions.
Standard Chartered aspires to be the best international bank in its markets by being the right partner for its stakeholders and leading by example. The group now employs over 60,000 people, representing some 100 nationalities, in more than 1,400 branches located in over 50 countries. The bank generates more than 90 per cent of its profits from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, with balanced income derived from both Wholesale and Consumer Banking.
The group is committed to building a sustainable business over the long term and is trusted worldwide for upholding high standards of corporate governance, social responsibility, environmental protection and employee diversity.
For more information, please visit: www.standardchartered.com