KUALA LUMPUR, 11 September 2008 Fifty-seven students from eight Malaysian universities graduated today from the ‘International Trade’ and ‘Securities Services’ programmes of Scope International Malaysia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Standard Chartered Plc., United Kingdom.

41 of the students have been offered employment and absorbed into Scope International Malaysia’s Wholesale Banking Operations Division, which serves the Standard Chartered Group in up to 15 countries. Equipped with certification set at the Bank’s international standards, the remaining 16 students will easily find employment in the Malaysian banking sector. This affirms Standard Chartered’s commitment to nurture skilled talent for Malaysia.

Arif Siddiqui, CIO, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia and Director, Scope International Malaysia said,

“Standard Chartered is the oldest bank in Malaysia. We have served Malaysians and contributed to the nation’s growth for 130 years.”

“Last month, Scope International expanded its internship programmes to include more Wholesale Banking courses, as well as brand new programmes in Software & Systems Development, Consumer Banking Operations, Customer Call Centre Management and I.T Support Services. These training programmes are being offered in partnership with the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), under the auspices of the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation. ICT industry leaders such as IBM, Dell, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft and Mesiniaga have agreed to collaborate with Scope International for our Technology courses.”

Nurrul Aieen bt Mohd Bahter, 23, a Bachelor of Finance student from UNISEL said, “Scope’s International Trade internship programme was excellent. Undertaking practical training in real-time in one of Scope’s departments completes the theoretical knowledge we obtained at university. The Management and staff at Scope International inspired us and made me feel so welcome, it felt as if I were with family.”

Mohammad Nuhairi bin Samsul, 23, also from UNISEL said, “My father is a small farmer in Simpang Rengam, Johor. I am second eldest among seven children. My younger siblings are still studying. I am very happy and grateful for the job offer received from Scope International to be able now to help support my family. I hope more companies will start offering similar programmes, as Scope International has done.”

Despite being the youngest student in the batch, Mohd Azrul bin Zulkifli, 21, from UiTM, won the “Best Student” Award. He said, “Standard Chartered is a leading global brand. Participating in their internship programme and then being given a job offer after that is wonderful. It is not easy to get a good job like this.”

Those who are interested in enrolling for Scope International Malaysia’s programmes can email Fazleen.Abd-Rahim@standardchartered.com