Bank of China earns US$2.57b in first half year
( 2002-07-24 09:57 ) (1 )

The Bank of China reported a paper profit of 7.025 billion yuan (US$846.4 million) and an operating profit of 21.346 billion yuan (US$2.57 billion) during the first half of the year.

Liu Mingkang, president of the bank, said: "We must fiercely grasp profits.

Development is a basic principle. If there are no profits, then we cannot talk about development."

Liu made the remarks on Tuesday at a working conference in Beidaihe, a summer resort in North China's Hebei Province.

"We must work hard to develop and promote high-profit products and ensure the full-year profits of domestic and overseas branches grow by more than 5 per cent," Liu said.

The bank's non-performing loans (NPLs), by the Chinese accounting standards, were reduced 2.28 percentage points to 21.84 per cent during the period.

The NPLs, by the international standard five category classification, were reduced 2.12 percentage points to 25.39 per cent.

China's banking industry will become more involved in the globalization of the economy and finance following the country's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Liu added.

The opening process of the country's financial sector will also enter a new stage, he stressed.

The Bank of China is speeding up establishment of a corporate governance mechanism to meet the challenges brought by the WTO accession, he said.

Since 2000, the Bank of China has mapped out an ambitious plan to turn itself into a large international bank with competitive advantages and relatively good corporate governance within three to five years.

The bank will further grow into one of the top international banks through mergers and acquisitions within five to 10 years, Liu said.

The Bank of China took the lead in China to compile financial reports in accordance with international accounting standards to reveal more information, including the ratio of bad loans, Liu said.

The bank also paid great attention to the training and management of human resources.

By the end of last month, the bank's outstanding new renminbi deposits had risen to 93.5 billion yuan (US$11.26 billion), accounting for 9.28 per cent of the total domestic market.

The outstanding amount of its foreign exchange deposits rose to US$3.158 billion, accounting for 57.02 per cent of the market share.