AGM Statement

Standard Chartered PLC
03 May 2007


                             STANDARD CHARTERED PLC

                             ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

                                   3 MAY 2007


The meeting will deal with the proposed Resolutions as outlined in the Notice of
Annual General Meeting issued to Shareholders dated 26 March 2007 and will
provide a summary of the business and final performance of the Group in 2006 and
of current progress.



The following statements are excerpts from the speeches to be made to
shareholders by Mervyn Davies, Chairman, and Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive,
at the Annual General Meeting, being held today at 12.00 noon in London.



Mervyn Davies, Chairman



Top-line Numbers

I have been on the Board of Standard Chartered since 1997 and was Chief
Executive for five years.  Today I am privileged to be here as your Chairman.
Standard Chartered's history goes back 154 years. This is a company which
respects tradition and history and at the same time moves forward and delivers
performance.



So I am very pleased to report that 2006 was another year of excellent
achievement for Standard Chartered.



  • Income increased 26 per cent.
  • Profit before taxation rose 19 per cent.
  • Normalised earnings per share increased 11 per cent.



As a result of this strong performance, the Board is recommending a full-year
dividend to shareholders of 71.04 cents a share, an increase of 11 per cent.



I'm sure you will agree these results demonstrate that we have strong momentum
in our businesses.  We are getting the balance right, producing good financial
performance while investing for future growth and returns for shareholders.



Our performance was recognised by The Banker magazine, which named Standard
Chartered for the first time ever as Global Bank of the Year, as well as Bank of
the Year for Global Corporate Social Responsibility.



Chairman role

At this point I would like to thank Bryan Sanderson, who stepped down as
Chairman in November after serving for three and a half years, during which time
the Group grew strongly and prospered.  The Board would like to say thank you to
Bryan.



This is the first Annual General Meeting since I became Chairman and Peter Sands
stepped up to be Chief Executive. This will be a great opportunity for you to
get to know Peter. The Bank is in great shape and he and his management team are
ready to seize the many opportunities in our markets.



At a time of rapid growth, we have continuity of leadership. Peter and I have
worked closely in developing our strategy, and this is the evolution of a
partnership which will enable us to continue the Bank's record of consistently
good performance for shareholders.



As Chairman, a key part of my role is to lead the Board. I will make sure we
continue to have a top-quality Board in place to challenge as well as to support
the Bank's executive management team.



I also want to build on the relationships I have developed around the world over
the past 10 years as a Board member.



Since becoming Chairman I have been to China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Abu
Dhabi, Indonesia, Vietnam and New York and I can tell you companies, governments
and other stakeholders in our markets increasingly see Standard Chartered as The
Right Partner.



Global economy

Turning to the global economy, the economic environment has been good. The world
economy is thriving, trade is soaring, commodity markets are healthy and China
and India are opening up.



In Asia, new trade corridors are emerging both within the region and with other
regions, and trade volumes are rising sharply.



Globally, and on the ground in many of our markets, the picture looks good. The
dynamics of the world economy are changing, as the global importance of Asia,
Africa and the Middle East continues to grow.



We are well placed to gain from the many changes that are under way around the
globe and will continue our focus on creating shareholder value through our
existing businesses and emerging opportunities.



Our markets are some of the most exciting in the world, but they also face some
of the biggest challenges such as poverty, disease and the effects of climate
change.



Sustainable business

At previous Annual General Meetings we have talked about corporate
responsibility - doing business in an ethical way and supporting communities.
Lots of companies are talking about corporate responsibility now, but we were
one of the first to put it at the heart of our business.



In 2006 we refocused our approach and launched our 'building a sustainable
business' strategy, based on our seven priorities.



All these priorities are aligned with the Bank's business, and all our
activities utilise our skills, employees and network. We do this because we can
make a difference, but also because it is the right thing for you, our
shareholders.



Take Seeing is Believing, our programme to combat avoidable blindness. In many
of our markets, if you are blind you cannot contribute to the economy.



Eradicating avoidable blindness will stimulate economic growth in these markets.
And by involving employees, customers and other stakeholders in the campaign, we
build our reputation, increase employee engagement and attract talented
employees.

Each of you should have found a copy of our Sustainability Review on your chair.
  I hope you will take the chance to read it and find out about what we are
doing to make a difference and ensure that our growth is sustainable.



And by the way, we would appreciate your feedback, as shareholders of the
Company, on the Sustainability Review and how we can conduct what we are doing
more effectively.



During 2006 Standard Chartered made significant strategic progress. We have the
management depth to execute our strategy and we are attracting talented and
diverse employees from around the world. The Bank is in excellent shape and we
are optimistic about the future.



Governance

Now a few words on governance and the Board.



As I look around the room, I see a strong Board, a really good cultural mix with
greater representation of our markets.



The Board is there to support and challenge the executive management team. In
recent years we have considerably strengthened the Board to ensure that we have
robust governance in place for our business.



In August we welcomed Lord Turner of Ecchinswell to the Board.



Adair Turner was Chairman of the UK's Independent Pensions Commission until
April 2006 and from 1995 to 1999 he was Director General of the Confederation of
British Industry.



This week we announced the further strengthening of our Board with the
appointment of John Peace as Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director and
Sunil Mittal as a Non-executive Director.   Both appointments are effective from
1 August 2007.



John is the Chairman of Experian Group and Burberry and Sunil is the founder,
Chairman and Group Chief Executive of Bharti Enterprises, one of India's leading
companies.



These appointments will strengthen our governance and add great depth and
diversity to our Board.



Rudy Markham will step down as the Senior Independent Director on 1 August and I
would like to thank him for the significant contribution he has made in that
role.



I am delighted that Rudy will be continuing as Chairman of the Audit and Risk
Committee, which plays such a critical role in the governance of the Company.



At the end of the year, Hugh Norton retired from the Board as Senior Independent
Director. We are grateful for the 11 years' service that he gave to Standard
Chartered as a Board member.



He served on the Nomination, Remuneration and Audit and Risk Committees and was
a truly gifted Non-executive Director.  He was a great source of wise counsel to
me, the Board and Executives and we would like to thank him most sincerely.



In closing, let me reaffirm to you that Standard Chartered is in excellent shape
and making strong progress. We have a clear strategy, a strong management team,
and we are well positioned to capitalise on the many opportunities in our
markets



Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your support.



Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive

Strategic agenda

Five years ago, I joined Standard Chartered as Group Finance Director. And now I
am delighted to be standing here as Group Chief Executive, just six months into
the job.



In the last five years, Standard Chartered has changed enormously. Under
Mervyn's leadership as Chief Executive, we've almost tripled the number of
branches, more than doubled the number of customers and doubled the number of
staff. Most importantly, we grew earnings per share by a cumulative average
growth rate of 21 per cent, delivered consistent growth in dividends (so that
the 2006 US dollar dividend is 69 per cent higher than the 2001 figure), and
drove total shareholder return of 118 per cent.



I am proud to have played my part in this story of growth and success. And I am
delighted to take on the role of leading the Bank on the next phase of our
journey. I'm particularly pleased that I will be doing so whilst continuing to
work in partnership with Mervyn. He has been a superb Chief Executive and is and
will be a great Chairman.



And as Mervyn said, the Bank is in great shape. We have a clear strategy, a
committed team and strong business momentum.



Our strategy is to become the world's best international bank, leading the way
in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. We've made great progress, but there's much
more to go for. We see huge opportunities in our markets. We see room for
improvement in almost everything we do.



My job is to make this happen. And my priorities for 2007 are clear.



We must accelerate organic growth. This is the core of our strategy and the key
to shareholder value creation. We stepped up investment for growth in 2006 and
are doing so again in 2007.



We must also continue to deliver on our acquisitions. Acquisitions do play an
important role in our strategy, but it's a supporting role. We don't buy to
grow; we grow what we buy.



This year our focus will be on our most recent acquisitions, in Pakistan and
Taiwan. Both offer huge potential for income and earnings growth. We are
determined to make both highly successful.



A third priority is to continuously improve the way we work, to deliver better
service to our customers, and to achieve greater cost efficiency. Many of you
will know that banks often make things too complicated. We're not immune to
this, but we are tackling it. We're redesigning processes to make them simpler,
better, faster.



A personal priority for me is to build more leadership capacity across the Bank.
One of Standard Chartered's great strengths is the depth, diversity and talent
of our people. The sheer variety of people in the Bank is one of the things that
make it such a wonderful place to work. But if we're to achieve our ambitions
we've got to attract and grow the next generation of leaders faster than ever
before.



Finally, we have to reinforce our brand. We have a great brand, a brand that's
well-known and respected across our markets. But we need to make it even bigger
and make it speak with a louder voice.



So these are my priorities for this year. We're making good progress on all of
them.



Now I'd like to quickly talk about some of our key markets, to give you a
flavour of what we're actually doing on the ground.



Tour of markets

First, China. In 2006, we more than doubled our income in China, tripled profit,
expanded our network to 22 locations in 14 cities, and almost doubled staff
numbers.



2007 promises to be equally exciting. At the beginning of April we incorporated
our business in China. Incorporation allows us for the first time to provide
mortgages, credit cards and other local-currency services to Chinese
individuals. Last week we received licences to offer these services in five
cities.



This is a huge opportunity, and we're accelerating investment to expand our
network. By the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals, we expect to
have around 40 outlets in China.



Reflecting China's importance to Standard Chartered, I've already been there
twice since becoming Group Chief Executive, and I even took my family there for
a brief holiday over Easter.



I'm also focusing a lot of attention on India. In 2006 we made profit of just
over $400 million in India, up 69 per cent on 2005, with a particularly strong
performance in Wholesale Banking.



We are growing our Wholesale Banking business right across India, and are
advising and financing major Indian companies as they expand outside India. For
example, Tata Steel in its acquisition of Corus here in the UK.



In 2007 we will continue to invest in both businesses to ensure we make the most
of the opportunities in this emerging economic giant.



China and India are the two big growth stories in the world economy - and we are
well placed to capitalize on both.



But we have many other exciting opportunities for growth.



Even in what some would describe as more mature markets, we can achieve rapid
profit growth.



In Hong Kong, our biggest market, we grew profits by 24 per cent in 2006.



In Korea, our second biggest market, we grew profits by 72 per cent.



And in Singapore, we grew profits by 28 per cent.



Through innovative products, excellent service and reaching out to new customer
segments, such as private banking and small and medium sized enterprises, we can
continue to drive growth.



And this is not just a story about Asia. In Africa and the Middle East we are
also growing strongly.



In Africa, we are benefiting from the rapidly increasing flows of trade and
investment with Asia. Our profits in Africa were up 200 per cent in 2006.



Nigeria is particularly exciting. In 2006 we grew income by over 80 per cent and
doubled profits.



In the Middle East, we are investing to capitalise on the extraordinary dynamism
of places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. In 2006 we grew income in the United
Arab Emirates by 32 per cent. And we see many new opportunities such as doing
even more in Islamic finance and realising the potential of the Dubai
International Financial Centre.



The core of our strategy is organic growth - growing our existing businesses.
But acquisitions do play an important role by giving us new platforms for
growth. Our most recent acquisitions were in Pakistan and Taiwan.



In Pakistan, we bought Union Bank in September and are making rapid progress in
integration. We rebranded Union's 65 branches in early January and now have 116
in total. We're in a great position in Pakistan, as the biggest international
bank and with a strong management team drawn from both institutions.



In Taiwan, we took full control of Hsinchu International Bank in December,
giving us 86 branches in this dynamic North East Asian market. We're at a much
earlier stage in the integration process than in Pakistan, but we are making
good progress and we are confident that this acquisition will give us a new,
powerful engine of profit growth.



I have visited both Pakistan and Taiwan since the beginning of the year. Making
sure we deliver on these two acquisitions is a top priority for me.



What you should take from this quick canter around our markets is that we have
great opportunities for growth and that we are investing to capture them.



Current progress

We've had an excellent start to 2007. Both businesses performed very well in the
first quarter of the year with strong income growth, particularly in Wholesale
Banking. We are seeing good double-digit income momentum across almost all our
geographies.



We have stepped up the pace of investment, particularly in Consumer Banking, as
we said we would, and we are making good progress against our milestones. As we
indicated at the results presentation, for the Group as a whole, costs will grow
faster than income in the first half. However, expense growth for the full year
will be broadly in line with income growth.



The credit environment has remained largely benign. The Wholesale Banking
portfolio continues to demonstrate excellent credit quality. In Consumer
Banking, as expected, the loan impairment charge reflects the improving
situation in Taiwan as well as the inclusion of our most recent acquisitions and
the change in the mix and maturity of the portfolio.



So, in summary, the Group is in great shape, we have strong momentum and a
wealth of opportunities.


Thank you for your support.


                                    - END -

For further information please contact:

Sean Farrell, Head of Media Relations [phone]

Stephen Atkinson, Head of Investor Relations [phone]




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange