China CITIC Bank expects net profit at its credit card center to surge 70 percent this year as business continues to grow, the bank said yesterday.

The bank is speeding up its credit card business in terms of card issues and revenue.

The Beijing-based bank is likely to have issued more than 10 million credit cards by the end of April, the sixth bank in China to surpass the 10-million credit card target.

The bank started issuing credit cards in 2003.