Indonesia's Bank Central Asia H1 net profit up 20 pct

JAKARTA, July 29 (Reuters) - PT Bank Central Asia (BBCA.JK), Indonesia's biggest lender by market value, said on Thursday first half 2010 profit rose 20 percent, as strong domestic demand lifted its loan growth.

BCA, controlled by Indonesia's richest conglomerate Djarum Group, earned 3.9 trillion rupiah ($433.3 million) in the first half ending June 30. That compared with a net profit of 3.3 trillion rupiah in the year ago period.

Analysts forecast a full-year 2010 net profit of 8.13 trillion rupiah, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

BCA's first-half net interest income percent fell to 5.85 trillion rupiah, from 7.7 trillion rupiah in the same period in 2009.

The bank, which has a market capitalisation of $16.3 billion, told Reuters in an interview in early July that its loan growth was 7 percent in the first half and that it expected this to pick up to over 20 percent for the full year. [ID:nJAK518311]

The latest data from Indonesia's central bank shows loan growth for the domestic banking industry, as of July 16, of 19.57 percent year-on-year. [ID:nJKB003761]

BCA's shares closed up 3.3 percent at 6,200 rupiah before the company released its results.

BCA shares rose 23 percent in the first half, outperforming a 15 percent jump in Jakarta's benchmark stock index .JKSE, but underperforming the 28 percent rally for the biggest state lender Bank Mandiri (BMRI.JK) in the same period. (Reporting by Fathiya Dahrul; Writing by Janeman Latul; Editing by Neil Chatterjee)