Mid-sized Chinese commercial lender Huaxia Bank Co Ltd on Tuesday reported a 2007 net profit rise of 44.21 percent, while announcing an 11.5 billion yuan share issue.

Gross profit reached 3.81 billion yuan ($543 million), and its net profit climbed to 2.1 billion yuan, an increase of 644 million yuan, said the bank's annual report.

Its operating profit was 3.86 billion yuan in 2007, up by 50 percent year on year, with earnings per share (EPS) at 0.5 yuan.

Huaxia Bank attributed its surging profit to growth in loan to industrial and commercial sectors and hefty interest returns.

Its net interest income rose 52.27 percent to 11.25 billion yuan, while net fee and commission incomes totaled 451.25 million yuan, 15 percent up from 2006.

The bank said its non-performing loan ratio was 2.25 percent by the end of 2007, down 0.48 percentage points from that of 2006.

The bank's total assets rose 147.4 billion yuan from the previous year to 592.34 billion yuan in 2007, up 33.13 percent. Huaxia said it aimed to increase the assets to 682 billion yuan, with a non-performing loan ratio below 2.15 percent.

Huaxia Bank's capital adequacy ratio was 8.27 percent in 2007, only 0.27 percent higher than the minimum regulatory requirement of 8 percent, and it plans to issue new shares to boost its capital adequacy level.

The bank is to issue 11.5 billion yuan worth additional shares to three shareholders: Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's largest bank; Shougang Corp, the nation's seventh-biggest steelmaker; and the State Grid Corp.

Huaxia Bank is to sell 3.91 billion yuan worth of shares to Deutsche Bank AG, 3.94 billion yuan worth of shares to Shougang, and 3.71 billion yuan shares to State Grid.

The issue would leave Shougang as the bank's largest shareholder with a 10.2 percent stake and State Grid holds 8.15 percent, Deutsche Bank as the fourth largest shareholder with 7.02 percent.

Huaxia Bank listed on Shanghai Stock market in 2003, and its share price dropped 2.29 percent to close at 14.5 yuan Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency March 19, 2008)