Market Views on-the-go

Powered by insights from our Chief Investment Office, across asset classes and regions.

Market Views on-the-go

Powered by insights from our Chief Investment Office, across asset classes and regions.

SC Money Insights

Podcast Series

Graphics, Art, Chart

Standard Chartered Money Insights

Hosted By:

Wealth Management Chief Investment Office

    Videos

    House Views Across Asset Classes

    SUMMARY
    EQUITY
    BONDS
    COMMODITIES
    ALTERNATIVES
    MULTI-ASSET
    Overweight
    Underweight
    Neutral
    AS AT 20 March 2026

    North America
    Europe ex-UK
    United Kingdom (UK)
    Japan
    Asia ex-Japan

    DM IG Government bonds
    DM IG Corporate bonds
    DM HY Corporate bonds
    EM USD Government bonds
    EM LCY Government bonds
    Asia USD bonds

    Crude Oil
    Gold

    Overweight
    Underweight
    Neutral
    AS AT 20 March 2026

    We remain Overweight global equities. While the Middle East conflict is dampening risk sentiment, we expect the conflict to subside in the next 3-4 weeks in our base scenario, allowing investors to refocus on the solid fundamentals for equities. We expect strong earnings growth to drive the market higher, led by our Overweight US and AxJ markets. We expect structural growth in AI capex to sustain US earnings growth and Fed rate cuts in H2 26 to support further growth.

    AxJ is also a beneficiary of AI capex, which is likely to drive significant earnings growth in 2026-27. Within AxJ, we upgrade Taiwan to Overweight with semiconductor-driven earnings growth. We remain Overweight China (due to the valuation re-rating potential) and India, which is seeing an improving earnings outlook and more supportive valuations.

    We upgrade Japan to a Core allocation, as the Takaichi government’s fiscal plans are improving the country’s growth outlook. We remain Underweight Europe ex-UK and UK equities, which have relatively muted earnings growth.

    The Bullish Case:

    + Earnings growth

    + AI uptrend

    The Bearish Case:

    – US policy uncertainty

    The Bullish Case:

    + Undemanding valuations

    + German fiscal spending

    The Bearish Case:

    – US trade policy risks

    The Bullish Case:

    + Attractive valuations

    + Dividend yield

    The Bearish Case:

    – Stagflation risks

    – US trade policy risks

    The Bullish Case:

    + Reasonable valuations

    + Rising dividends/share buybacks

    The Bearish Case:

    – JPY strength

    – US trade policy

    The Bullish Case:

    + Earnings; India growth

    + China policy support

    The Bearish Case:

    – China growth concerns

    – US trade policy

    Overweight
    Underweight
    Neutral
    AS AT 20 March 2026

    Core scenario (soft landing, 60% probability): We believe the Middle East conflict will be short-lived and thus unlikely to dent our base-case scenario of an economic soft landing this year. While near-term inflation expectations have surged with oil prices, the global fundamental backdrop is less hawkish than in 2022, when the Ukraine conflict accentuated pandemic-led supply disruptions to drive inflation sustainably higher. For one, the US job market is significantly weaker today, while inflation stood close to record lows in Asia before the latest conflict. Given this, we expect the Fed to cut rates by 50bps in H2 as focus turns to reviving the job market. The ECB is likely to hold rates, while China eases policy in H2 to sustain its consumption-led growth.

    Downside risk (hard landing, 25% probability): We raise the risk of a hard landing from 15% due to the Middle East conflict. A prolonged conflict would keep oil prices higher for longer, delaying Fed rate cuts and further impairing the US job market. A stock market downturn hurting investor confidence and/or a bond sell-off on inflation and/or debt concerns are other tail risks.

    Upside risk (no landing, 15% probability): There is still a possibility that US tax and Fed rate cuts, fiscal easing in Germany and China and a potential rollback of US tariffs could revive ‘animal spirits’, provided the Middle East conflict is short-lived. A Russia-Ukraine peace deal, a US-China ‘grand bargain’ or EU-wide defence spending could potentially lift global growth.

    The Bullish Case:

    + High credit quality

    + Falling yields

    The Bearish Case:

    – High sensitivity to inflation

    – Monetary policy

    The Bullish Case:

    + High credit quality

    + Improving valuations

    The Bearish Case:

    – Expected supply

    – Especially in the US

    The Bullish Case:

    + Attractive yield

    + Low rate sensitivity

    The Bearish Case:

    – Sensitive to growth

    – Credit quality risks

    The Bullish Case:

    + Attractive yield

    + Sensitive to US rates

    The Bearish Case:

    – EM credit quality

    – US trade policy risks

    The Bullish Case:

    + Attractive yield

    + Benefit from USD weakness

    The Bearish Case:

    – US trade policy risks

    – Inflation risks

    The Bullish Case:

    + Moderate yield

    + Low volatility

    The Bearish Case:

    – Sensitive to China growth

    Overweight
    Underweight
    Neutral
    AS AT 20 March 2026

    20 MARCH 2026

    Bullish EUR/USD: Recent market volatility in commodity prices, combined with ongoing uncertainties around the Middle East conflict, suggest that the ECB would adopt a cautious stance. We anticipate the pause in monetary policy easing will persist for the remainder of the year. Germany’s increased defence and infrastructure expenditure is expected to help mitigate some of the negative effects of tariffs.

    The Bullish Case:

    + Portfolio hedge

    + Central bank demand

    + Falling real yields

    The Bearish Case:

    – Resilient USD

    Overweight
    Underweight
    Neutral
    AS AT 20 March 2026
    Overweight
    Underweight
    Neutral
    AS AT 20 March 2026

    FX views (12-month outlook)

    USD
    EUR
    JPY
    GBP
    AUD
    ASIA EX-JAPAN
    USD (DXY)

    20 MARCH 2026

    Bullish EUR/USD: Recent market volatility in commodity prices, combined with ongoing uncertainties around the Middle East conflict, suggest that the ECB would adopt a cautious stance. We anticipate the pause in monetary policy easing will persist for the remainder of the year. Germany’s increased defence and infrastructure expenditure is expected to help mitigate some of the negative effects of tariffs.

    The Bullish Case:

    + Short term safety

    The Bearish Case:

    – Falling yields

    – likely underperform vs major asset classes

    EUR/USD

    20 MARCH 2026

    Bullish EUR/USD: Recent market volatility in commodity prices, combined with ongoing uncertainties around the Middle East conflict, suggest that the ECB would adopt a cautious stance. We anticipate the pause in monetary policy easing will persist for the remainder of the year. Germany’s increased defence and infrastructure expenditure is expected to help mitigate some of the negative effects of tariffs.

    The Bullish Case:

    + Fiscal support

    The Bearish Case:

    – Weak consumer and business confidence

    USD/JPY

    20 MARCH 2026

    USD/JPY rangebound with bearish bias. Middle East conflict could hit Japan’s economy, given its reliance on crude oil imports from the region. However, Japan’s solid upward revision to Q4 25 GDP shows the economy is growing above its potential rate despite elevated US tariffs fundamentally. It strengthens the case for another rate hike in H2 26.

    The Bullish Case:

    + Bearish positioning looks overstretched

    The Bearish Case:

    – JPY’s safe-haven demand

    – Japan’s fiscal health

    GBP/USD 

    20 MARCH 2026

    GBP/USD rangebound with bearish bias: The recent spike in energy prices has revived a familiar dilemma for the BoE – tackle inflation or support softer demand. The UK jobs market has been steadily cooling, with the unemployment rate climbing to 5.2% in Q4 25 (a five-year high). The BoE has repeatedly expressed concerns about a sharper downturn.

    The Bullish Case:

    + UK’s resilience to US tariff risks

    The Bearish Case:

    – Soft UK labour market

    AUD/JPY

    20 MARCH 2026

    Bullish AUD/USD: The RBA raised its policy rate to 4.1%. Although its stance was less hawkish than the market expected, it has indicated inflation is likely to remain above target for some time. The RBA continues to lead other major central banks in the pace of its rate hikes. The pair is also well supported by resilient Asian currencies.

    The Bullish Case:

    + China’s stimulus plan

    + Strong gold prices

    The Bearish Case:

    – Easing Australia business confidence

    Asia ex-Japan

    20 MARCH 2026

    Bearish USD/CNH: The PBoC continues to guide the CNH with a pragmatic, measured approach, signalling no significant policy changes for now. Meanwhile, the strong balance of payment and fundamentals support our bullish outlook for the CNH.

    Bearish USD/CHF: The reduction in reciprocal tariffs from 39% to 15% provides considerable relief for Switzerland. The growth outlook is expected to improve if a trade agreement is ultimately reached and supported by resilient domestic demand. The SNB is likely shift towards a hawkish stance to restore policy flexibility by year-end 2026.
    The MAS cited upside risks to growth and inflation. We expect the SGD NEER to trade close to the upper end of the policy band, keeping USD/SGD exposed to downside risks.

    Bearish USD/INR: India now faces only a 10% tariff under Section 122 following a US trade deal and Supreme Court action, which should support exports and manufacturing recovery. With growth headwinds easing, the RBI is likely to maintain rates for an extended period.

    Bearish USD/MYR: Inflows of foreign direct investment into data centres, driven by the AI trend and the nation’s strong growth prospects, support a positive outlook for the MYR.

    Bearish USD/KRW: The Bank of Korea with a higher CPI forecast is positive for the KRW. With Asia’s heavyweight chipmakers riding the AI wave and attracting fresh global capital, we see the KRW recovering recent losses.

    USD/SGD The Bullish Case:

    + SGD vulnerable to slowing global growth

    + SGD NEER falls with cooling inflation

    The Bearish Case:

    – Resilient Singapore domestic growth

    – Stable CNH

    USD/INR The Bullish Case:

    + RBI to continue to absorb capital inflows

    + Broad USD rebound

    The Bearish Case:

    – US fiscal/debt risk

    – India’s fiscal boost supporting growth

    USD/MYR The Bullish Case:

    + Replenish FX reserves

    + Broad USD rebound

    + Malaysia policy rate cut

    The Bearish Case:

    – Resilient GDP growth

    USD/KRW The Bullish Case:

    + Korea’s vulnerability to global growth

    + Broad USD rebound

    The Bearish Case:

    – Export growth and tourism inflows

    – Cheap value; inflows

    Disclosure

    This document is confidential and may also be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please destroy all copies and notify the sender immediately. This document is being distributed for general information only and is subject to the relevant disclaimers available at our Standard Chartered website under Regulatory disclosures. It is not and does not constitute research material, independent research, an offer, recommendation or solicitation to enter into any transaction or adopt any hedging, trading or investment strategy, in relation to any securities or other financial instruments. This document is for general evaluation only. It does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person or class of persons and it has not been prepared for any particular person or class of persons. You should not rely on any contents of this document in making any investment decisions. Before making any investment, you should carefully read the relevant offering documents and seek independent legal, tax and regulatory advice. In particular, we recommend you to seek advice regarding the suitability of the investment product, taking into account your specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs, before you make a commitment to purchase the investment product. Opinions, projections and estimates are solely those of SC at the date of this document and subject to change without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results and no representation or warranty is made regarding future performance. The value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up, and you may not recover the amount of your original investment. You are not certain to make a profit and may lose money. Any forecast contained herein as to likely future movements in rates or prices or likely future events or occurrences constitutes an opinion only and is not indicative of actual future movements in rates or prices or actual future events or occurrences (as the case may be). This document must not be forwarded or otherwise made available to any other person without the express written consent of the Standard Chartered Group (as defined below). Standard Chartered Bank is incorporated in England with limited liability by Royal Charter 1853 Reference Number ZC18. The Principal Office of the Company is situated in England at 1 Basinghall Avenue, London, EC2V 5DD. Standard Chartered Bank is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. Standard Chartered PLC, the ultimate parent company of Standard Chartered Bank, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates (including each branch or representative office), form the Standard Chartered Group. Standard Chartered Private Bank is the private banking division of Standard Chartered. Private banking activities may be carried out internationally by different legal entities and affiliates within the Standard Chartered Group (each an “SC Group Entity”) according to local regulatory requirements. Not all products and services are provided by all branches, subsidiaries and affiliates within the Standard Chartered Group. Some of the SC Group Entities only act as representatives of Standard Chartered Private Bank and may not be able to offer products and services or offer advice to clients.

    Copyright © 2026, Accounting Research & Analytics, LLC d/b/a CFRA (and its affiliates, as applicable). Reproduction of content provided by CFRA in any form is prohibited except with the prior written permission of CFRA. CFRA content is not investment advice and a reference to or observation concerning a security or investment provided in the CFRA SERVICES is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold such investment or security or make any other investment decisions. The CFRA content contains opinions of CFRA based upon publicly-available information that CFRA believes to be reliable and the opinions are subject to change without notice. This analysis has not been submitted to, nor received approval from, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any other regulatory body. While CFRA exercised due care in compiling this analysis, CFRA, ITS THIRD-PARTY SUPPLIERS, AND ALL RELATED ENTITIES SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, to the full extent permitted by law, regarding the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of this information and assumes no liability with respect to the consequences of relying on this information for investment or other purposes. No content provided by CFRA (including ratings, credit-related analyses and data, valuations, model, software or other application or output therefrom) or any part thereof may be modified, reverse engineered, reproduced or distributed in any form by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of CFRA, and such content shall not be used for any unlawful or unauthorized purposes. CFRA and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or availability of such content. In no event shall CFRA, its affiliates, or their third-party suppliers be liable for any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including lost income or lost profit and opportunity costs) in connection with a subscriber’s, subscriber’s customer’s, or other’s use of CFRA’s content.

    Banking activities may be carried out internationally by different branches, subsidiaries and affiliates within the Standard Chartered Group according to local regulatory requirements. Opinions may contain outright “buy”, “sell”, “hold” or other opinions. The time horizon of this opinion is dependent on prevailing market conditions and there is no planned frequency for updates to the opinion. This opinion is not independent of Standard Chartered Group’s trading strategies or positions. Standard Chartered Group and/or its affiliates or its respective officers, directors, employee benefit programmes or employees, including persons involved in the preparation or issuance of this document may at any time, to the extent permitted by applicable law and/or regulation, be long or short any securities or financial instruments referred to in this document or have material interest in any such securities or related investments. Therefore, it is possible, and you should assume, that Standard Chartered Group has a material interest in one or more of the financial instruments mentioned herein. Please refer to our Standard Chartered website under Regulatory disclosures for more detailed disclosures, including past opinions/ recommendations in the last 12 months and conflict of interests, as well as disclaimers. A covering strategist may have a financial interest in the debt or equity securities of this company/issuer. All covering strategist are licensed to provide investment recommendations under Monetary Authority of Singapore or Hong Kong Monetary Authority. This document must not be forwarded or otherwise made available to any other person without the express written consent of Standard Chartered Group.

    Any ESG data used or referred to has been provided by Morningstar, Sustainalytics, MSCI or Bloomberg. Refer to 1) Morningstar website under Sustainable Investing, 2) Sustainalytics website under ESG Risk Ratings, 3) MCSI website under ESG Business Involvement Screening Research and 4) Bloomberg green, social & sustainability bonds guide for more information. The ESG data is as at the date of publication based on data provided, is for informational purpose only and is not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular purpose, and it may be subject to change. Sustainable Investments (SI): This refers to funds that have been classified as ‘ESG Intentional Investments – Overall’ by Morningstar. SI funds have explicitly stated in their prospectus and regulatory filings that they either incorporate ESG factors into the investment process or have a thematic focus on the environment, gender diversity, low carbon, renewable energy, water or community development. For equity, it refers to shares/stocks issued by companies with Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating of Low/Negligible. For bonds, it refers to debt instruments issued by issuers with Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating of Low/Negligible, and/or those being certified green, social, sustainable bonds by Bloomberg. For structured products, it refers to products that are issued by any issuer who has a Sustainable Finance framework that aligns with Standard Chartered’s Green and Sustainable Product Framework, with underlying assets that are part of the Sustainable Investment universe or separately approved by Standard Chartered’s Sustainable Finance Governance Committee. Sustainalytics ESG risk ratings shown are factual and are not an indicator that the product is classified or marketed as “green”, “sustainable” or similar under any particular classification system or framework.

    Bahrain: This document is being distributed in Bahrain by Standard Chartered Bank, Bahrain Branch, having its address at P.O. 29, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, is a branch of Standard Chartered Bank and is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain as a conventional retail bank. Botswana: This document is being distributed in Botswana by, and is attributable to, Standard Chartered Bank Botswana Limited which is a financial institution licensed under the Section 6 of the Banking Act CAP 46.04 and is listed in the Botswana Stock Exchange. Brunei Darussalam: This document is being distributed in Brunei Darussalam by, and is attributable to, Standard Chartered Bank (Brunei Branch) | Registration Number RFC/61 and Standard Chartered Securities (B) Sdn Bhd | Registration Number RC20001003. Standard Chartered Bank is incorporated in England with limited liability by Royal Charter 1853 Reference Number ZC18. Standard Chartered Securities (B) Sdn Bhd is a limited liability company registered with the Registry of Companies with Registration Number RC20001003 and licensed by Brunei Darussalam Central Bank as a Capital Markets Service License Holder with License Number BDCB/R/CMU/S3-CL and it is authorised to conduct Islamic investment business through an Islamic window. China Mainland: This document is being distributed in China by, and is attributable to, Standard Chartered Bank (China) Limited which is mainly regulated by National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), and People’s Bank of China (PBOC). Hong Kong: In Hong Kong, this document, except for any portion advising on or facilitating any decision on futures contracts trading, is distributed by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (“SCBHK”), a subsidiary of Standard Chartered PLC. SCBHK has its registered address at 32/F, Standard Chartered Bank Building, 4-4A Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong and is regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and registered with the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) to carry on Type 1 (dealing in securities), Type 4 (advising on securities), Type 6 (advising on corporate finance) and Type 9 (asset management) regulated activity under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) (“SFO”) (CE No. AJI614). The contents of this document have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in Hong Kong and you are advised to exercise caution in relation to any offer set out herein. If you are in doubt about any of the contents of this document, you should obtain independent professional advice. Any product named herein may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document at any time other than to “professional investors” as defined in the SFO and any rules made under that ordinance. In addition, this document may not be issued or possessed for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, and any interests may not be disposed of, to any person unless such person is outside Hong Kong or is a “professional investor” as defined in the SFO and any rules made under that ordinance, or as otherwise may be permitted by that ordinance. In Hong Kong, Standard Chartered Private Bank is the private banking division of SCBHK, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered PLC. Ghana: Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited accepts no liability and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly (including special, incidental or consequential loss or damage) from your use of these documents. Past performance is not indicative of future results and no representation or warranty is made regarding future performance. You should seek advice from a financial adviser on the suitability of an investment for you, taking into account these factors before making a commitment to invest in an investment. To unsubscribe from receiving further updates, please send an email to feedback.ghana@sc.com. Please do not reply to this email. Call our Priority Banking on 0302610750 for any questions or service queries. You are advised not to send any confidential and/or important information to Standard Chartered via e-mail, as Standard Chartered makes no representations or warranties as to the security or accuracy of any information transmitted via e-mail. Standard Chartered shall not be responsible for any loss or damage suffered by you arising from your decision to use e-mail to communicate with the Bank. India: This document is being distributed in India by Standard Chartered in its capacity as a distributor of mutual funds and referrer of any other third party financial products. Standard Chartered does not offer any ‘Investment Advice’ as defined in the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013 or otherwise. Services/products related securities business offered by Standard Charted are not intended for any person, who is a resident of any jurisdiction, the laws of which imposes prohibition on soliciting the securities business in that jurisdiction without going through the registration requirements and/or prohibit the use of any information contained in this document. Indonesia: This document is being distributed in Indonesia by Standard Chartered Bank, Indonesia branch, which is a financial institution licensed and supervised by Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (Financial Service Authority) and Bank Indonesia. Jersey: In Jersey, Standard Chartered Private Bank is the Registered Business Name of the Jersey Branch of Standard Chartered Bank. The Jersey Branch of Standard Chartered Bank is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission. Copies of the latest audited accounts of Standard Chartered Bank are available from its principal place of business in Jersey: PO Box 80, 15 Castle Street, St Helier, Jersey JE4 8PT. Standard Chartered Bank is incorporated in England with limited liability by Royal Charter in 1853 Reference Number ZC 18. The Principal Office of the Company is situated in England at 1 Basinghall Avenue, London, EC2V 5DD. Standard Chartered Bank is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. The Jersey Branch of Standard Chartered Bank is also an authorised financial services provider under license number 44946 issued by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority of the Republic of South Africa. Jersey is not part of the United Kingdom and all business transacted with Standard Chartered Bank, Jersey Branch and other SC Group Entity outside of the United Kingdom, are not subject to some or any of the investor protection and compensation schemes available under United Kingdom law. Kenya: This document is being distributed in Kenya by and is attributable to Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited. Investment Products and Services are distributed by Standard Chartered Investment Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited that is licensed by the Capital Markets Authority in Kenya, as a Fund Manager. Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya. Malaysia: This document is being distributed in Malaysia by Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad (“SCBMB”). Recipients in Malaysia should contact SCBMB in relation to any matters arising from, or in connection with, this document. This document has not been reviewed by the Securities Commission Malaysia. The product lodgement, registration, submission or approval by the Securities Commission of Malaysia does not amount to nor indicate recommendation or endorsement of the product, service or promotional activity. Investment products are not deposits and are not obligations of, not guaranteed by, and not protected by SCBMB or any of the affiliates or subsidiaries, or by Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia, any government or insurance agency. Investment products are subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of the principal amount invested. SCBMB expressly disclaim any liability and responsibility for any loss arising directly or indirectly (including special, incidental or consequential loss or damage) arising from the financial losses of the Investment Products due to market condition. Nigeria: This document is being distributed in Nigeria by Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited (SCB Nigeria), a bank duly licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria. SCB Nigeria accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly (including special, incidental or consequential loss or damage) from your use of these documents. You should seek advice from a financial adviser on the suitability of an investment for you, taking into account these factors before making a commitment to invest in an investment. To unsubscribe from receiving further updates, please send an email to clientcare.ng@sc.com requesting to be removed from our mailing list. Please do not reply to this email. Call our Priority Banking on 02 012772514 for any questions or service queries. SCB Nigeria shall not be responsible for any loss or damage arising from your decision to send confidential and/or important information to Standard Chartered via e-mail. SCB Nigeria makes no representations or warranties as to the security or accuracy of any information transmitted via e-mail. Pakistan: This document is being distributed in Pakistan by, and attributable to Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited having its registered office at PO Box 5556, I.I Chundrigar Road Karachi, which is a banking company registered with State Bank of Pakistan under Banking Companies Ordinance 1962 and is also having licensed issued by Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan for Security Advisors. Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited acts as a distributor of mutual funds and referrer of other third-party financial products. Singapore: This document is being distributed in Singapore by, and is attributable to, Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited (Registration No. 201224747C/ GST Group Registration No. MR-8500053-0, “SCBSL”). Recipients in Singapore should contact SCBSL in relation to any matters arising from, or in connection with, this document. SCBSL is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank and is licensed to conduct banking business in Singapore under the Singapore Banking Act, 1970. Standard Chartered Private Bank is the private banking division of SCBSL. IN RELATION TO ANY SECURITY OR SECURITIES-BASED DERIVATIVES CONTRACT REFERRED TO IN THIS DOCUMENT, THIS DOCUMENT, TOGETHER WITH THE ISSUER DOCUMENTATION, SHALL BE DEEMED AN INFORMATION MEMORANDUM (AS DEFINED IN SECTION 275 OF THE SECURITIES AND FUTURES ACT, 2001 (“SFA”)). THIS DOCUMENT IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO ACCREDITED INVESTORS, AS DEFINED IN SECTION 4A(1)(a) OF THE SFA, OR ON THE BASIS THAT THE SECURITY OR SECURITIES-BASED DERIVATIVES CONTRACT MAY ONLY BE ACQUIRED AT A CONSIDERATION OF NOT LESS THAN S$200,000 (OR ITS EQUIVALENT IN A FOREIGN CURRENCY) FOR EACH TRANSACTION. Further, in relation to any security or securities-based derivatives contract, neither this document nor the Issuer Documentation has been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore under the SFA. Accordingly, this document and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the product may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the product be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons other than a relevant person pursuant to section 275(1) of the SFA, or any person pursuant to section 275(1A) of the SFA, and in accordance with the conditions specified in section 275 of the SFA, or pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA. In relation to any collective investment schemes referred to in this document, this document is for general information purposes only and is not an offering document or prospectus (as defined in the SFA). This document is not, nor is it intended to be (i) an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any capital markets product; or (ii) an advertisement of an offer or intended offer of any capital markets product. Deposit Insurance Scheme: Singapore dollar deposits of non-bank depositors are insured by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation, for up to S$100,000 in aggregate per depositor per Scheme member by law. Foreign currency deposits, dual currency investments, structured deposits and other investment products are not insured. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Taiwan: SC Group Entity or Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan) Limited (“SCB (Taiwan)”) may be involved in the financial instruments contained herein or other related financial instruments. The author of this document may have discussed the information contained herein with other employees or agents of SC or SCB (Taiwan). The author and the above-mentioned employees of SC or SCB (Taiwan) may have taken related actions in respect of the information involved (including communication with customers of SC or SCB (Taiwan) as to the information contained herein). The opinions contained in this document may change, or differ from the opinions of employees of SC or SCB (Taiwan). SC and SCB (Taiwan) will not provide any notice of any changes to or differences between the above-mentioned opinions. This document may cover companies with which SC or SCB (Taiwan) seeks to do business at times and issuers of financial instruments. Therefore, investors should understand that the information contained herein may serve as specific purposes as a result of conflict of interests of SC or SCB (Taiwan). SC, SCB (Taiwan), the employees (including those who have discussions with the author) or customers of SC or SCB (Taiwan) may have an interest in the products, related financial instruments or related derivative financial products contained herein; invest in those products at various prices and on different market conditions; have different or conflicting interests in those products. The potential impacts include market makers’ related activities, such as dealing, investment, acting as agents, or performing financial or consulting services in relation to any of the products referred to in this document. UAE: DIFC – Standard Chartered Bank is incorporated in England with limited liability by Royal Charter 1853 Reference Number ZC18.The Principal Office of the Company is situated in England at 1 Basinghall Avenue, London, EC2V 5DD. Standard Chartered Bank is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. Standard Chartered Bank, Dubai International Financial Centre having its offices at Dubai International Financial Centre, Building 1, Gate Precinct, P.O. Box 999, Dubai, UAE is a branch of Standard Chartered Bank and is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”). This document is intended for use only by Professional Clients and is not directed at Retail Clients as defined by the DFSA Rulebook. In the DIFC we are authorised to provide financial services only to clients who qualify as Professional Clients and Market Counterparties and not to Retail Clients. As a Professional Client you will not be given the higher retail client protection and compensation rights and if you use your right to be classified as a Retail Client we will be unable to provide financial services and products to you as we do not hold the required license to undertake such activities. For Islamic transactions, we are acting under the supervision of our Shariah Supervisory Committee. Relevant information on our Shariah Supervisory Committee is currently available on the Standard Chartered Bank website in the Islamic banking section. For residents of the UAE – Standard Chartered UAE (“SC UAE”) is licensed by the Central Bank of the U.A.E. SC UAE is licensed by Securities and Commodities Authority to practice Promotion Activity. SC UAE does not provide financial analysis or consultation services in or into the UAE within the meaning of UAE Securities and Commodities Authority Decision No. 48/r of 2008 concerning financial consultation and financial analysis. Uganda: Our Investment products and services are distributed by Standard Chartered Bank Uganda Limited, which is licensed by the Capital Markets Authority as an investment adviser. United Kingdom: In the UK, Standard Chartered Bank is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. This communication has been approved by Standard Chartered Bank for the purposes of Section 21 (2) (b) of the United Kingdom’s Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”) as amended in 2010 and 2012 only. Standard Chartered Bank (trading as Standard Chartered Private Bank) is also an authorised financial services provider (license number 45747) in terms of the South African Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002. The Materials have not been prepared in accordance with UK legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research, and that it is not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of the dissemination of investment research. Vietnam: This document is being distributed in Vietnam by, and is attributable to, Standard Chartered Bank (Vietnam) Limited which is mainly regulated by State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). Recipients in Vietnam should contact Standard Chartered Bank (Vietnam) Limited for any queries regarding any content of this document. Zambia: This document is distributed by Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Plc, a company incorporated in Zambia and registered as a commercial bank and licensed by the Bank of Zambia under the Banking and Financial Services Act Chapter 387 of the Laws of Zambia.