ICBC profits up in first half

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited earned 138.5 billion yuan ($22.6 billion) net profit in the first half, up 12.4 percent year-on-year, according to interim results filed with the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited on Thursday.

Operational income stood at 291.5 billion yuan, increasing 10.9 percent from the same period last year.

The non-performing loan ratio was 0.87 percent, 0.02 percentage points higher than the beginning of the year.

The bank held 18.72 trillion yuan in total assets, increasing 6.74 percent from the same period last year.

Its capital adequacy ratio was 13.11 percent, 0.55 percentage points lower than the end of 2012.

The bank has increased its support for innovative and service sectors in response to China’s shift from an investment-driven to a higher value-added economy. Loans to advanced manufacturing, modern service, cultural and strategic emerging industries accounted for 86 percent of the new loans in the first six months.

The bank has exerted stronger leverage on its current assets as required by the government in its tightened monetary policy.

Total loans on the mainland increased by 490.7 billion yuan, up 6.22 percent from the same time last year.

The amount of accumulated loans was 8.02 times the newly added volume, compared to 5.65 in 2011 and 6.82 in 2012, indicating a more thorough utilization of loans.