ABC posts gains

Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), which admitted to a non-performing loan ratio of 30% only 18 months ago, reported a 63% rise in operating profit, to RMB32bn (US$3.85bn), for 2004, state-owned Financial News said. The paper said deposits topped RMB518bn last year. ABC's 2004 net profit figure was not revealed. Analysts in the past have accused ABC of understating its NPLs.