Beijing-based Huaxia Bank Co reported a 90.88-percent jump in its net income in the first half of this year.

Its earnings rose to 8.72 billion yuan (US$1.28 billion), or 0.34 yuan per share, and its revenue surged 59.27 percent to 2.66 billion yuan, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday.

Most of the fast growth came from increasing loans, raised interest margins and a drop in the corporate income tax rate, Shenyin Wanguo Research and Consulting Co said in a research note.

The lender expects loans to grow steadily for the rest of the year. It aims to strengthen risk control and liquidity management after the reserve requirement ratio was raised to a record high 17.5 percent this year, the statement said.

Shares of the company tumbled 3.25 percent to close at 11.31 yuan yesterday while the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3 percent to 2,727.58 points.

(Shanghai Daily August 8, 2008)