StanChart looking to sell billions of pounds-worth of assets, report says

StanChart was looking to hive-off $4.4bn (£3.1bn) in Asian assets, as the lender looked to shrink its balance sheet after being left reeling by record impairment charges.

People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg the Asia-focused lender was “speaking” with potential buyers for approximately $1.4bn of stressed loans made to Indian firms, mainly from the infrastructure and power industries.

Hong Kong’s SSG Capital Management was among the special-situation funds which had expressed interest in the Indian loans, with KKR having also participated previously in the talks and having left the door open to a possible return to the table.

London-based StanChart had also reportedly kicked off the sale of about $3bn in assets from the rest of continent, including loans, proprietary bond and equity investments from China, Indonesia and Malaysia, according to one person cited by Bloomberg.

The lender was also said to be looking to sell of its portfolio in Africa and the Middle East, according to the same people.

A planned sale of at least $1.5bn in non-stressed loans made to mid-market Indian companies was also shelved after testing buyer interest in the portfolio earlier this year, one of the persons told the newswire.

As of 08:15 BST shares in StanChart were 0.24% lower at 442.65p.