ACB says H1 pretax profit jumps 20 percent

Asia Commercial Bank, Vietnam’s second biggest listed company by market value, said pretax profit exceeded VND1.2 trillion (US$67 million) in the first half, according to a statement e-mailed by the company Friday.

That was a 20 percent rise, compared with profit of about VND1 trillion in the same period last year, said Ly Xuan Hai, chief executive officer of the bank, known as ACB.

“Income rose as we made more loans and earned more from trading currencies and gold,” Hai said by phone Friday. “The outlook for the third quarter is very positive since the government is still maintaining its loose monetary policies to help the economy.”

ACB earned VND554 billion, or 45 percent of total profit, from trading gold and currencies, the statement said.

ACB’s profit from lending reached VND387 billion, or 32 percent of the total income, it said. The Ho Chi Minh City-based bank’s total outstanding loans reached VND50.3 trillion, it said, without giving comparative figures.

ACB, 15 percent owned by Standard Chartered Plc, said assets rose to VND142 trillion through June, up 23 percent from VND115 trillion at the end of 2008. Total deposit reached VND105.4 trillion through June, according to the statement.

thanhnien, Bloomberg

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