UPDATE 1-Vietnam Sacombank H1 profit rises 23 pct
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HANOI, July 9 (Reuters) - Vietnam's Sacombank STB.HM said on Wednesday first-half gross profit rose 23 percent to 754 billion dong ($45.6 million) as loan demand continued to climb.
Total assets of the Ho Chi Minh City-based Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, the country's sixth-largest lender, reached 74.88 trillion dong at the end of last month, 95 percent higher than in June 2007, the bank said in a statement.
The first-half gross profit accounted for 38 percent of Sacombank's profit target for the whole year.
"Sacombank's performance in the first six months in 2008 continues to maintain safe and stable growth," Sacombank's statement said, even though the country's economy was struggling with double-digit inflation and a widening trade deficit.
Sacombank said it raised 64.23 trillion dong in deposits during the first six months, up from 54 trillion dong at the end of 2007, while outstanding loans reached 38.33 trillion dong, or nearly 12 percent up from last December.
In March Sacombank projected loans would grow 34 percent to 46 trillion dong this year when its assets should expand 46.5 percent to 93 trillion dong and deposits jump 48 percent to 80 trillion dong.
Sacombank's profit growth projection slowed from a jump of 167 percent last year, when its loans soared 136 percent.
The State Bank of Vietnam aims to cap Vietnam's credit growth this year at 30 percent after a surge of 54 percent in 2007 to control double-digit inflation in place since last November.
Sacombank shares closed up 2.87 percent at 25,100 dong on Wednesday. Vietnam's stock exchange .VNI also ended 0.65 percent at 439.55 points, having lost 53 percent so far this year.
The World Bank's International Finance Corp, Dragon Capital and ANZ Bank (ANZ.AX) together own 30 percent of Sacombank, the ceiling for foreign ownership of listed banks in Vietnam. ($1=16,521 dong) (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by Kim Coghill)
