The business unit comprises its recently launched Singapore and Dubai operations as well as its more established Hong Kong business. Standard Life said the loss can be attributed to the set-up costs associated with its new Singapore and Dubai ventures.
Maintenance costs in the first half of 2013 rose by £2m to £23m, while acquisition costs rose by £4m to £10m during the first half.
However, in addition to an increase in expenses, Standard Life also recorded a £5m increase in fee based revenue which it said was driven by higher assets under administration and growth in net flows.
The Asia and emerging market business unit also includes is two joint ventures in India and China which delivered a profit of £5m during the first half, almost entirely offsetting the £6m total loss for the business unit as whole.
Assets under administration for the wholly owned portion of the business unit also increased, rising by 18% to £262m. Standard Life said its Harvest Wealth product, launched in late 2012, was a main contributor to this.
Net flows were also up within the wholly owned unit, jumping 30% compared with the first half of 2012 to £39m.
Standard Life said it has begun to write new business in Singapore and Dubai, with terms of business now agreed with 37 adviser firms and sales of £29m chalked up during the half.
Alan Armitage, chief executive of Asia and emerging markets, said: “We are pleased with the performance of our Asia and emerging markets business in the first half of this year, and we believe that we have the foundations in place to drive future growth.
“The transition of our Asia and emerging markets operations from Edinburgh to Hong Kong is expected to be completed by September this year. The establishment of a dedicated regional hub in Asia brings us closer to the local markets and customers, allowing us to better leverage our expertise in quality long-term savings and investments solutions.”
At a group level, Standard Life posted its strongest first half on record for long term savings new business sales and group net inflows at £232.8bn and £6.5bn respectively.
