Standard Chartered Plc, the U.K.'s best-performing bank stock this year, said first-half profit rose 26 percent on gains in India, China and the Middle East.

Net income in the first six months of the year increased to $1.37 billion, or 97.1 cents a share, from $1.09 billion, or 82.2 cents a share, in the year-earlier period, the London-based bank said in a statement today. That beat the $1.3 billion estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Standard Chartered is the second U.K. bank to outperform earnings estimates based on the strength of Asia. HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank, said first-half net income rose 25 percent, helped by China, India and Singapore. Standard Chartered doubled Chinese revenue and plans to build a "very large-scale business" there, Chief Executive Officer Peter Sands said today.

"Banks with exposure to Asia have an advantage over those that don't," said David Bradbury, a London-based fund manager at Canada Life Ltd. "Competition is hotting up, but overall it is a pretty good growth story there," said Bradbury, who helps manage about $6 billion including HSBC and Standard Chartered stock.

Shares of Standard Chartered rose 2.9 percent to 1,616 pence at 11 a.m. in London. The stock is up 8.3 percent this year, while the nine-member FTSE All-Share Banks Index is down 7.5 percent. Speculation that Standard Chartered is a takeover target has lifted the shares, say analysts including London-based Alex Potter at Collins Stewart Ltd.

Operating profit in Standard Chartered's consumer bank rose 36 percent to $788 million. Wholesale banking profit rose 26 percent to $1.2 billion as corporate lending rose 92 percent in China and 85 percent in India. Both the consumer and wholesale units beat the estimates of London-based analysts at Citigroup Global Markets Ltd.