BOC reports 43% profit growth in '08 first half

Bank of China, the country's third largest bank by assets, posted a 42.78 percent growth in first-half net profit, the only domestic listed bank reporting a profit growth below 50 percent.

The Beijing-based bank said yesterday that its net profit vaulted 42.78 percent to 42.18 billion yuan in the six months to June 30 from a year earlier. However, it is the slowest profit growth among the country's 14 publicly traded banks.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the country's 13 other listed banks posted on average a 96 percent increase in first-half profits.