 "StanChart H1 pretax profit leaps 57%, announces $250 million buyback")
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Standard Chartered PLC posted a 57% jump in its first-half pretax profit, higher than expected, as the bank benefited from an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The bank also announced a $250 million share buyback and resumed interim dividend payments worth $94 million, or 3 cents per share.
Statutory pretax profit for StanChart, which focuses on Asia, Africa and the Middle East, rose to $2.55 billion in January-June from $1.63 billion in the same period last year, the London-headquartered bank said in a stock exchange filing.
The latest profit compared with the $2.23 billion average of analyst estimates compiled by Standard Chartered.
(Reporting by Lawrence White in London and Alun John in Hong Kong; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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