Bank announces 34% profit rise

CHINA Construction Bank Corp, the country's second-largest commercial lender by assets, yesterday said its profit last year climbed 34 percent on higher fee and interest income, as its lending, especially for infrastructure construction, surged.

Net profit for last year was 92.6 billion yuan (US$13.55 billion), or 0.40 yuan per share, the Beijing-based bank said. That compares with its 69.1 billion yuan net profit in 2007. The bank recorded a charge of US$730 million for its holdings of United States subprime mortgage-linked securities by the end of last year.