Standard Chartered Plc, the British lender that earns at least three-quarters of its profit in Asia, plans to increase its staff in Singapore by more than a third over the next three years.

The bank intends to add about 2,000 people to the 6,000 staff it now employs, Ray Ferguson, Standard Chartered’s regional chief executive for Singapore and Southeast Asia, said in Singapore today. The bank expects double-digit annual growth in staff in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, he said.

 

Singapore’s government said this week that the city-state’s economy expanded faster than initially estimated last quarter. Job creation is likely to pick up this year, the central bank said in a report in April. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group said this week it plans to hire about 500 people in Singapore in the next 12 months.

 

Ferguson while optimistic about growth in the region, said confidence may be hit by concerns over whether Europe can contain its debt crisis.

 

“We see the environment ahead with caution, but we also do see continued opportunities as Asian economies grow,” he said. “I still see an Indonesia that’s growing five to six percent this year. I still see a China that’s going to grow similar to the historic trend rates it’s had over the last five years, and an India that’s growing.”

 

Ferguson said the political unrest in Thailand is “too complicated” to predict an outcome. The bank, which has 33 branches and about 2,000 staff in the country, plans to re-open on Monday, He said. The stock market and banks in Bangkok were closed yesterday and today.

 

“We have no intention of scaling back in Thailand whatsoever,” he said. “We are reasonably optimistic that Thailand will get back to business next week.”