Standard Life, a leading provider of long term savings and investments to around 6 million customers worldwide, has established an Asia advisory board to provide guidance and advice on its strategy to grow across the region.

Standard Life’s presence in the region continues to grow with the opening of a Singapore office in 2012, a Dubai office in 2013 and most recently the increased scale of operation of Standard Life Investments in Hong Kong, said a company statement.

Chaired by Standard Life chairman Gerry Grimstone, the work of the board will support the group’s businesses in the region – Standard Life Investments and Asia and Emerging Markets – as well as inputting to its joint ventures HDFC Life and HDFC Asset Management in India and Heng An Standard Life in China.
 
The Standard Life group – including its share of joint venture assets – manages £7.2 billion ($11.8 billion) of assets across the region.
 
The key members of the Asia Advisory Board are David Nish, the chief executive, Standard Life, Keith Skeoch, the chief executive, Standard Life Investments, Sandy Begbie, Group operations officer, Standard Life, Colin Clark, the director of Global Client Group, Standard Life Investments and Seiichi Fukuyama, the chairman of Standard Life Investments in Asia.
 
The external members are:
•Gaby Abdelnour, based in Hong Kong and currently an advisor to Bain Capital Asia and former chairman and CEO Asia and Pacific, J.P. Morgan;
•Amanda Lu, based between Beijing and Hong Kong and is a board director of China National Building Material Corporation, and a former Managing Director and Vice Chairman Greater China, Deutsche Bank AG;
•Deepakh Parekh, the chairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC Limited) and is based in Mumbai. He is chairman of HDFC Life and HDFC Asset Management, and a non-executive director of DP World Limited and Vedanta Resources;
•Peter Young, based in Sydney and chairman of Barclays Australia and New Zealand, and former chairman of Investment Banking, ABN AMRO Group (Australia and New Zealand).

“The establishment of the Asia Advisory Board underlines the importance of the region in developing Standard Life’s global reach. “I’m delighted with the appointments we have made to the Board, all of whom have extensive experience and knowledge of the region,” remarked Grimstone.-TradeArabia News Service