IN BRIEF (Page 13)

Minsheng profit outlook

Minsheng Bank, China's first listed non-State lender to plan a Hong Kong share offer, will earn a net profit of at least 11 billion yuan in 2009, the company said yesterday.

The forecast profit would mark a rise of 39.5 percent from the lender's previously reported net earnings of 7.885 billion yuan in 2008. The bank also said its un-audited net profit in the first nine months of the year rose 18.1 percent to 10.2 billion yuan.