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Standard Life plc - Annual Report and Accounts 2007
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Asia Pacific - Customers, employees and looking ahead

Customers and employees

In common with the rest of the Group, all Asia Pacific operations are committed to maintaining the highest level of customer service. Each operation recognises the importance of its workforce, and consequently a considerable investment is made in ensuring ongoing development of its employees, particularly in relation to training.

Looking ahead

We expect sales in India and China to keep growing in 2008 as our joint venture operations continue to expand. HDFC SL looks set to perform well, supported by strong market growth, new product launches and more developed distribution. Given the strong momentum, both Standard Life and HDFC are committed to a future IPO of a portion of HDFC SL. We intend to launch this before the end of 2009, subject to applicable regulations. In China, Heng An SL plans to work on introducing new products and developing existing and new distribution channels. It also aims to move into new provinces and anticipates being in 30 cities by the end of 2008 compared to 14 in 2007. Our Hong Kong business has grown well from a small base and we expect sales to improve as we develop our distribution channels and launch new products.