Sinopec's net profit rises 85.1% in Q1

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) reported Tuesday that its net profit in the first quarter rose 85.1 percent year on year, because of lower international crude oil prices and adjusted refined oil prices on the domestic market.

Net profit totaled 11.219 billion yuan (1.64 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, due to the country's adjusted refined oil pricing mechanism since the beginning of this year, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets.

Sinopec saw its net profit drop by 69 percent to about 6 billion yuan in the first three months of 2008 because of China's price ceilings on refined oil products and global oil price rises.

The slump in the international crude oil prices has given a positive boost to the performance of Sinopec, the country's top refiner, as the government launched the new pricing mechanism for refined products in 2009, which ensured profits of oil refiners, despite the still weak demand in the domestic market.

The company predicted its net profit for the first half of 2009would increase by more than 50 percent year on year.

In contrast, PetroChina Company Limited, reported Monday its net profit in the first quarter slid 35.3 percent year on year to 18.956 billion yuan, pulled down by the low price of crude oil and less demand.

PetroChina is the leading oil producer of China, with most crude oil it refined produced by the company itself, while Sinopec has over 70 percent of its crude oil imported.

The amount of crude oil refined by Sinopec fell 3.27 percent year on year, but was up 1.21 percent quarter on quarter. The company attributed these movements to the macro-economic situation, but it gave no details on this and did not specify the production figures.

Listed in Hong Kong, New York, London and Shanghai, Sinopec is the listed subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group).

Share prices of the company in the mainland A-share market dropped by 2.38 percent to 9.44 yuan on Tuesday, and down 4.11 percent in the Hong Kong market to 5.6 Hong Kong dollars (72 cents).

Bank of China Q1 net profit down 14.41% on writedowns for toxic assets

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Bank of China, the country's third largest lender by market value, said Tuesday its first-quarter net profit fell 14.41 percent from a year ago on writedowns of sub-prime-related assets.

Net profit in the first three months stood at 18.57 billion yuan (2.73 billion U.S. dollars), or 0.07 yuan per share, down from 21.7 billion yuan, or 0.09 yuan, a year earlier.

The bank wrote down the value of sub-prime-related assets and other securities by 378 million U.S. dollars in the first three months, bringing the funds set aside for toxic assets up to 4.84 billion U.S. dollars, the bank said in its first-quarter report.

The bank still held 2.2 billion U.S. dollars in U.S. sub-prime-mortgage investments, 1.05 billion U.S. dollars in securities backed by Alt-A home loans, 3.2 billion U.S. dollars of "non-agency" mortgage investments and 3.4 billion U.S. dollars of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae securities, as of March 31.

Non-agency mortgage refers to mortgage-backed securities not issued by government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

The lender's domestic institutions extended 569.4 billion yuan of yuan-denominated new loans in the first quarter, up 24 percent from the end of last year, as the country's banks have been instructed to make more loans in a bid to stimulate the slowing economy.

Yuan-denominated customer deposits increased 18 percent from the end of last year to 723.1 billion yuan in the first quarter, it said.

However, the bank's income from interest declined 9.74 percent from a year ago to 36.84 billion yuan in the first three months.

The bank said it adjusted its holding of foreign currency-denominated assets down by 6 percentage points to 29 percent of the total in the first quarter.

The non-performing loan ratio was 2.24 percent at the end of March, 0.41 percentage points lower than the end of last year, with outstanding non-performing loans at 85.13 billion yuan.

The bank's shares closed at 2.76 HK dollars in Hong Kong Tuesday, unchanged from the previous close. Shares in Shanghai edged up 0.29 percent to 3.47 yuan. Trading in Shanghai ended before the lender's first-quarter results were announced.

Citi China gains net income of 1.3 bln yuan in 2008, 95% up year on year

SHANGHAI, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Citibank (China) Co. Ltd. said Wednesday its net income reached 1.3 billion yuan (190 million U.S. dollars) last year, 95 percent up against 2007, partly due to the resilience and continued growth of China's economy.

It achieved a 46 percent increase in operating revenue last year to reach 3.6 billion yuan, it said.

"Our 2008 financial results reflect the fact that Citi's business in China is in a very strong and stable position," said Andrew Au, board Chairman of Citibank (China).

"China remains one of Citi's highest priority markets. We remain deeply committed to helping our customers in China succeed, and we are excited about opportunities for growth in 2009, as we look to continue to support China's sustained economic success."

Citi China saw a 17-percent increase in RMB lending from 2007. Its Capital Adequacy Ratio reached 13.6 percent, compared to 11.5 percent in 2007.

The bank opened six new consumer outlets in Beijing, Shanghai and Dalian, bringing the total number of outlets in China to 26 last year.

It is the first international bank in China to offer mobile banking services via its debit card, allowing cardholders to use their mobile phone to conduct transactions.

"We are optimistic about China's ability to continue to weather the current global financial crisis, and we take a long-term view regarding our own business in China," Andrew Au said.

China Pacific Insurance net profit down 81% in 2008

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- China Pacific Insurance, one of the country's
largest insurers, announced Saturday that its net profit dropped 80.6 percent to
1.339 billion yuan (196 million U.S. dollars) in 2008.

The Shanghai-based insurer attributed the profit decrease to the sluggish
stock market performance and the large amount of insurance indemnity after
several natural disasters last year.

However, the premium income of the company rose 26.6 percent to94.02
billion yuan, said the firm in its 2008 annual report.

Its life insurance premium income increased 30.4 percent to 66.09 billion
yuan last year, ranking the third in the domestic market. Its property insurance
premium rose 18.7 percent to 27.88 billion yuan, *** it the second largest
among its peers.