StanChart net profit down 24pc

Standard Chartered said Tuesday its first-half net profit fell 24 percent, with some of its businesses in emerging Asian markets seeing slower growth.
The London-based but Asia-focused bank said net profit fell to $2.13 billion for the six months to June 30, from $2.81 billion in the same period last year.
Operating income rose four percent to reach $9.75 billion from $9.37 billion in the previous year.
The bank, which focuses partly on emerging markets, was hit by a weak performance in South Korea with revenue falling five percent in the first half.
It posted a goodwill impairment of $1 billion in Korea, representing a lower value of assets in the country.
Performance was also affected by weak numbers in Singapore where profits fell 12 percent, but the bank saw improvements in its African market where profits were up 10 percent.
"This year markets like Hong Kong, India and Africa delivered impressive growth, whilst Korea, Singapore and Other Asia-Pacific faltered," group chief executive Peter Sands said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Sands said the group was unlikely to see double-digit revenue growth this year due to uncertainty and "growing turbulence" in the global economy.
The company will not strive for financial growth by increasing bad debts, chairman John Peace said of its projected single-digit growth for the year.
Growth will not be "at the expense of increased risks or higher levels of bad debt.