Agricultural Development Bank of China, a state-owned policy
bank, said Friday its 2007 profits rose 69.6 percent year-on-year
to 14.9 billion yuan (US$2.04 billion).
The bank's loan balance reached a record 1.02 trillion yuan by
the end of last December, an increase of 138 billion yuan from a
year ago, the bank said in a statement posted on its Web site.
The loans were given mainly to satisfy the government's capital
demand for grain and cotton purchase, a move to encourage farmers
to produce. The bank also provided support to infrastructure
construction in rural areas, it said.
The bank was established in 1994 by the central government with
a view of promoting rural and agricultural development. It
currently has 2,000 branches in 30 Chinese provinces.
By the end of last year, its non-performing loan ratio was 6.29
percent, down 1.36 percentage points from a year ago.
(Xinhua News Agency January 5, 2008)
