Agricultural Bank's profit up 14.5 percent

Lender says it will issue preferred shares when rules are promulgated

Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, the country's largest rural lender by assets, said net profit rose 14.5 percent in 2013.

The State-owned bank reported profit of 166.21 billion yuan ($27.02 billion) for the 12 months to Dec 31, from 145.13 billion yuan in 2012. Profit growth was the slowest since 2006 as the government sought to contain excessive credit supply and industrial capacity amid slower economic growth.