China Minsheng Banking Corp's net profit jumped 68.6 percent year on year in 2007 to 6.3 billion yuan (about 886 million U.S. dollars), the lender announced on Monday.

The country's first private bank saw its assets swell 26.9 percent in 2007 to 919.8 billion yuan with earnings per share of 0.48 yuan, up 54.8 percent year on year.

The bank attributed the growth to expansion of assets and increases in the net fee and commission income from its intermediary business, which jumped 133 percent, it said without elaborating.

Its net non-interest profit surged 112 percent year on year to 2.7 billion yuan, accounting for 11 percent of the total, 3.4 percentage points higher than 2006.

Its non-performing loan ratio stood at 1.22 percent, much lower than the average of China's four large state-owned banks.

China Minsheng Bank, listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2000, is a share-holding commercial bank focused on aiding non-state-owned industrial and commercial enterprises.

Bank shares rose 1.46 percent, or 0.2 yuan, to 13.91 yuan on Monday.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2008)