High-Flying ICBC

THE Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world's largest bank by market value, had become the most profitable lender in the world by posting a 35.2-percent rise in after-tax profit last year, it said yesterday.

The bank's net profit was 114.431 billion yuan (US$16.75 billion) in 2008 under international accounting rules. Earnings per share in 2008 rose by 0.09 yuan to 0.33 yuan, the bank said.

The bank issued 536.8 billion yuan of new loans in 2008, up 14.3 percent year on year.