Standard Chartered says back office operations near Tianjin blast site suspended

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BEIJING, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered PLC (HKSE: 2888.HK - news) said on Friday its back office operations located near the site of two huge explosions that killed over 50 people in China's northeastern city of Tianjin have been suspended.

In an email sent to Reuters on Friday, the bank said Scope International China Building, which houses its back-office operations, is located in the affected area and operations have been temporarily suspended.

It added, however, that contingency business operations have been started and it expects limited impact on its clients.

The bank said over 1000 staff working at the site have been accounted for but some were badly injured and are under treatment in hospital.

Two huge explosions tore through an industrial area where toxic chemicals and gas were stored in Tianjin, killing at least 50 people, including at least a dozen fire fighters. (Reporting by Matthew Miller; Writing by Engen Tham; Editing by Kazunori Takada)