China's industrial firms reported 165.3 billion yuan (US$25.22 billion) in profit in the first two months this year, up 17.4 percent from a year earlier, according to a monthly report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Beijing Tuesday.

The index of overall industrial economic results was 158.72, up 7.86 percent compared with the same term of 2004.

The NBS said that among the country's 39 major categories of industrial sectors, profits of coal, oil and steel increased 122, 39.3 and 15.8 percent, respectively.

According to the report, iron mining registered a yearly growth rate of 47.2 percent, non-ferrous metal mineral products 200.8 percent and non-metal mining 70.2 percent.

The five sectors whose profits increased fastest were oil, coal, chemicals, steel and telecommunications, accounting for 85 percent of new profits.

The profits of state-owned or state-held industrial firms reached 86.4 billion yuan, up 14 percent, while their companies in- red lost 18.7 billion yuan with an increase of 37.4 percent.

China's industrial firms generated a combined sales volume of 2.99 trillion yuan in the first two month, up 27.1 percent year-on- year.

Industrial firms paid 155 billion yuan in tax during the two months, up 16.4 year-on-year.

(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2005)