Newly listed banks see profits soar

Two of the newest mainland banks to enter the Hong Kong market posted high profit growth, as well as high impairment charges, for the first half of the year.

Bank of Chongqing, which listed in October, said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Tuesday that net profit in the first six months of the year hit 1.66 billion yuan (HK$2.09 billion), a year-on-year increase of 18.1 per cent.

Net profit at Harbin Bank, which launched its initial public offering in March, soared by 25.8 per cent to 2 billion yuan, the bank said in a separate statement late on Tuesday. Its impairment charges for loans and advances to customers climbed by about 42 per cent year on year.

At Bank of Chongqing, provisions for loans and advances surged by 133 per cent year on year.