Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, in which Citigroup owns a stake, yesterday said net profit rose 31 per cent to 3.4 billion yuan last year, as the lender benefited from strong loan demand amid China's rapid economic growth.
Analysts said the results met their expectations.
Shanghai-listed Pudong Bank, in a preliminary statement, said that revenue increased 26 per cent to 29.6 billion yuan last year while earnings per share gained 18 per cent to 77 fen.
'The company's results are in line with the development of China's whole banking sector,' said Wu Yonggang, an analyst at Guotai Junan Securities in Shanghai.
'Its revenue increase mostly came from the growth of loans and fee income.'
The lender, which is expected to release the full earnings report in March, has benefited from its base in Shanghai, a comparatively rich city in the mainland.
Pudong Bank, which traditionally has focused its operations on the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and the Bohai Rim, is expanding into the midwestern region of the mainland, setting up branches in cities such as Nanchang in Jiangxi province and Nanjing in Guangxi.
