Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. (SPDB), partly owned by Citigroup Inc., said on August 23 the first half net profit soared 149.62 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The surge in profit came on increasing loan, lower corporate income tax rate, and greater fee income, the mid-sized lender said in its half-year report.

Net profit was 6.38 billion yuan (about US$933 million), or 1.126 yuan per share, in the first six months.

In the January to June period, the SPDB's total business income hit 16.71 billion yuan, representing an increase of 43.86 percent over the same period a year earlier.

Its net interests income was 15.52 billion yuan in the first half, an increase of 38.85 percent from a year earlier. This accounted for 91.11 percent of the total business income.

The lender's total assets stood at one trillion yuan by June, representing an increase of 9.58 percent from a year earlier.

The Shanghai-listed lender saw its shares dipped 3.15 percent to close at 21.23 yuan on Friday.

(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2008)