Tender Offer Update

Standard Chartered PLC
23 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 its
recommended offer for Hsinchu International Bank ('Hsinchu') (the 'Offer'), its
subsidiary company, Standard Chartered Bank, has received acceptances
representing more than 51 per cent of the issued and to be issued share capital
of Hsinchu as at 23 October 2006.



All regulatory consents have been received and the 51 per cent minimum
acceptance condition has been achieved. Consequently the Offer is now wholly
unconditional.



The Offer is due to close on 31 October, 2006 and remaining shareholders have
until that date to tender their shares.



On completion of the Offer, Standard Chartered will have majority ownership of
Hsinchu, Taiwan's seventh largest private sector bank, by loans and deposits as
at 30 June 2006.  It is the intention of Standard Chartered to delist Hsinchu,
subject to regulatory consent and Hsinchu corporate approval. Standard Chartered
expects 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 the
three wealthiest regions of Taiwan: Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu. As at 30 June,
2006, Hsinchu had total assets of approximately USD13 billion. It has more than
2.4 million consumer deposit accounts and more than 115,000 corporate and small
and 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 the
seventh 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 local
customer base that possesses the second highest average annual household income
in Taiwan, according to official statistics.

Information on Standard Chartered


Standard Chartered is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange and is consistently ranked in the top 25 among FTSE-100 companies
by market capitalization.

Standard Chartered has a history of over 150 years in banking and operates in
many of the world's fastest-growing markets with an extensive global network of
over 1,200 branches (including subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures) in
over 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 by
significantly enhancing Standard Chartered's presence in Taiwan, which is the
fifth 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 acquisition
of Hsinchu would have made Taiwan Standard Chartered's fourth largest market by
income for the six months ended 30 June, 2006.



CONTACTS



Investors

Stephen Atkinson                           Ruth Naderer
Head of investor Relations                 Head of Investor Relations, Asia Pacific
[phone]                       [phone]
[e-mail]  [e-mail]



Press
Sean Farrell                             Rita Liu
Head of Media Relations                  Head of Corporate Affairs, Hong Kong
[phone]                     [phone]
[e-mail]    [e-mail]



Margrit Chang
Consultant, Corporate Affairs, Taiwan
[phone]
[e-mail]




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