Agricultural Bank of China profit up 7.9%

BEIJING -- The Agricultural Bank of China, a medium-sized lender, reported a net profit rise of 7.9 percent year on year to 179.46 billion yuan ($29.42 billion) in 2014.

Its non-performing loan ratio, however, edged up to 1.54 percent at the end of 2014, up 0.32 percentage points from the end of 2013, the lender said Tuesday.

Non-performing loans stood at 124.97 billion yuan at the end of 2014, up 37.19 billion yuan from the end of 2013.

This rise is under control, said Zhang Yun, governor of the bank.

The bank's total assets hit 16 trillion yuan in 2014, up 9.7 percent year on year.

Its net interest income gained 53.69 billion yuan to 429.89 billion yuan in 2014, about 82 percent of the total business revenue.

Its shares edged up 3.04 percent to 3.73 yuan on the Shanghai bourse Tuesday.