23rd Oct 2006 07:00
Standard Chartered PLC23 October 2006 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR ONTO THE UNITED STATES,CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN Standard Chartered Offer for Hsinchu Wholly Unconditional Standard Chartered PLC ("Standard Chartered") announces that, pursuant to itsrecommended offer for Hsinchu International Bank ("Hsinchu") (the "Offer"), itssubsidiary company, Standard Chartered Bank, has received acceptancesrepresenting more than 51 per cent of the issued and to be issued share capitalof Hsinchu as at 23 October 2006. All regulatory consents have been received and the 51 per cent minimumacceptance condition has been achieved. Consequently the Offer is now whollyunconditional. The Offer is due to close on 31 October, 2006 and remaining shareholders haveuntil that date to tender their shares. On completion of the Offer, Standard Chartered will have majority ownership ofHsinchu, Taiwan's seventh largest private sector bank, by loans and deposits asat 30 June 2006. It is the intention of Standard Chartered to delist Hsinchu,subject to regulatory consent and Hsinchu corporate approval. Standard Charteredexpects to combine its existing Taiwanese operations with Hsinchu by late 2007. Information on Hsinchu Hsinchu is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and has a strong presence in thethree wealthiest regions of Taiwan: Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu. As at 30 June,2006, Hsinchu had total assets of approximately USD13 billion. It has more than2.4 million consumer deposit accounts and more than 115,000 corporate and smalland medium sized enterprises deposit accounts. Hsinchu currently operates an island-wide distribution network of 83 branches.Hsinchu has a long and established operating history of over 50 years and is theseventh largest private sector bank in Taiwan, measured by loans and deposits,as of 30 June, 2006. Hsinchu's strong branch presence in the Hsinchu region enables it to tap a localcustomer base that possesses the second highest average annual household incomein Taiwan, according to official statistics. Information on Standard Chartered Standard Chartered is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Hong KongStock Exchange and is consistently ranked in the top 25 among FTSE-100 companiesby market capitalization. Standard Chartered has a history of over 150 years in banking and operates inmany of the world's fastest-growing markets with an extensive global network ofover 1,200 branches (including subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures) inover 50 countries in the Asia Pacific region, South Asia, the Middle East,Africa, the United Kingdom and the Americas. The acquisition marks an important step in Standard Chartered's Asia strategy bysignificantly enhancing Standard Chartered's presence in Taiwan, which is thefifth largest economy in Asia and is Asia's fourth largest banking market,according to Standard Chartered estimates. Together with Standard Chartered's existing business in Taiwan, the acquisitionof Hsinchu would have made Taiwan Standard Chartered's fourth largest market byincome for the six months ended 30 June, 2006. CONTACTS Investors Stephen Atkinson Ruth NadererHead of investor Relations Head of Investor Relations, Asia Pacific+44 (0) 20 7280 7245 +852 2820 [email protected] [email protected] PressSean Farrell Rita LiuHead of Media Relations Head of Corporate Affairs, Hong Kong+44 (0) 20 7280 7163 +852 [email protected] [email protected] Margrit ChangConsultant, Corporate Affairs, Taiwan+886 (0) 2 2547 [email protected] This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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