StanChart S'pore's ex-CEO Lim Cheng Teck to retire

Standard Chartered Bank's vice-chairman of ASEAN and its former chief executive in Singapore, Lim Cheng Teck, will retire on May 1.

The 56-year-old has been with the bank for more than 28 years.

He assumed his role on Oct 1 last year, under the management structure unveiled by current StanChart chief executive Bill Winters, who joined the bank last June.

Under this ongoing restructuring, Mr Winters has consolidated the bank's eight regions into four regional businesses - Greater China and North Asia, Africa and the Middle East, ASEAN and South Asia, and Europe and the Americas.

When Mr Lim was the bank's chief executive in Singapore and executive vice-chairman for China, its revenue doubled between 2009 and 2012, and crossed the US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) mark for the first time, said FinanceAsia.

During his stint with the London-listed bank, he held other senior roles, including regional chief executive of ASEAN.

The bank said: "In these roles, he has grown the Standard Chartered franchise and built the bank's brand in some of its fastest-growing and important markets."

Mr Lim, looking back on his time with the bank, said: "This has been an incredible journey with many highlights. Two, in particular, stand out. I am proud to have led the growth of the bank's China franchise and the transformation of our Singapore business. It has been a great run and I am grateful to have worked with fantastic teams who have made all these possible."

Upon his retirement, he will continue to support Ajay Kanwal, the bank's regional chief executive of ASEAN and South Asia, as senior adviser. He will also focus on key client relationships, and remain president commissioner of PT Bank Permata Tbk in Indonesia, in which StanChart has a 45 per cent stake.

StanChart's ongoing restructuring is aimed at positioning the bank for long-term and sustainable growth.

It is now refocusing its efforts on more profitable and less capital-intensive businesses. More than US$100 billion in assets which will be restructured or exited have been identified.

The bank aims to deliver US$2.9 billion in cost rationalisation between November 2015 and 2018; it has also put in place a simplified organisational structure, which will remove a gross 15,000 roles by 2018.

In February, the bank reported its first annual loss since 1989. Bad loans nearly doubled in the year to US$4 billion, pushing the bank to a US$2.36 billion net loss, compared to a net profit of US$2.51 billion in 2014.

Asia accounted for 69 per cent of its revenues in 2015, with Hong Kong emerging as the largest contributor in terms of revenue and profit. StanChart has warned that earnings would remain subdued this year as it continues to overhaul its operations.

This article was first published on April 26, 2016.
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