ABC profits soar in first half

Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), the last of the country's Big Four lenders to undergo structural reforms, reported 64.55% growth in operating profit for the first half of the year, according to Securities Times (in Chinese). Operating profit totaled US$5.6 billion in the first six months of 2007, an increase of US$2.2 billion from a year before. Fee income from intermediary services had grew 52.63% year-on-year to reach US$1.1 billion during the period, 4.93% higher than the growth rate a year ago. Fee income accounted for 10.82% of the bank's total income, 0.7% higher from a year earlier. The bank's non-performing loans (NPL) fell US$1.1 billion in the first half compared to that of at the end of 2006, reducing its NPL ratio by 2.09 percentage points.