BoCom plans 10.8% loan growth this year

    BANK of Communications Co. (BoCom) plans to increase loans by 10.8 percent in 2014, maintaining the same growth rate as in 2013, the bank’s president, Peng Chun, said at a press conference yesterday.

    BoCom, China’s fifth-largest bank, posted a 2 percent drop in year-on-year net profit growth for the fourth quarter Sunday. For the full year of 2013, net profit rose to 62.3 billion yuan (US$10.2 billion) from 58.4 billion yuan in 2012, the lender said.

    Dongfeng Motor posts strong 2013 profit

    DONGFENG Motor Group Co. yesterday reported a better-than-expected 16 percent rise in 2013 profit due to a rebound in sales at its Japanese partners.

    Dongfeng Motor, China’s second-biggest carmaker, said net profit was 10.53 billion yuan (US$1.70 billion). Dongfeng’s growth was largely driven by a sales rebound at its two Japanese ventures — which combined accounted for nearly half of vehicle sales by volume in 2013 — as anti-Japan sentiment inside China triggered by a 2012 territorial dispute eased. Dongfeng’s ventures with Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. last year reported sales increases of 113.9 percent and 19.9 percent by volume respectively, rebounding from a low base.

    Guangfa Bank plans HK share sale

    CHINA Guangfa Bank Co., part-owned by Citigroup Inc., plans to seek about US$2 billion through a Hong Kong initial public offering after shelving a proposed Shanghai listing, sources with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.

    The Guangzhou-based lender, formerly known as Guangdong Development Bank Co., aims to start the share sale in the second half, the sources said. The company has yet to seek approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange, the sources said.

    CCB’s 9.2% profit rise beats estimates

    CHINA Construction Bank Corp. (CCB), the country’s second-biggest bank, yesterday posted a 9.2 percent rise in net profits for the final three months of 2013, becoming the third of China’s four biggest banks to beat market forecasts.

    Its net profit rose to 38.18 billion yuan (US$6.15 billion) from 35 billion yuan in the fourth quarter of 2012. That compares with an average estimate of 37.4 billion yuan given in a poll of 12 analysts. For the full year, net profit rose to 214.66 billion yuan from 193.2 billion yuan in 2012.