China's Sinolink Securities announced Friday that its third quarter net profit is forecast to increase about 42 percent to 175 million yuan (US$25.6 million).

The Shanghai-listed brokerage firm (SH:600109) estimated its net profit in the first nine months would exceed 680 million yuan, up around 122 percent year on year.

The company attributed the third quarter profit increases to stock and other financial asset sales. Sinolink would become China's first major domestic brokerage company to expect year-on-year profit growth in the third quarter of 2008, according to Friday's Shanghai Securities News.

(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2008)