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UPDATE 1-Vietnam ACB says 2007 profit doubles to $104 mln

Thu Jan 3, 2008 9:24pm EST

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HANOI, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Asia Commercial Bank ACB.HN, Vietnam's fifth largest lender, said on Friday it made a net profit of 1.68 trillion dong ($104 million) last year, more than double that of 2006.

ACB, which said the 2007 results were unaudited, said its earning-per-share rose 42.8 percent to 6,465 dong last year.

The 14-year-old bank based in Ho Chi Minh City also said in a statement its assets soared 96.2 percent to 87 trillion dong last year.

ACB shares were down 0.71 percent at 139,000 dong ($8.63) on the over-the-counter Hanoi stock exchange .HASTCI in morning trade.

The bank's outstanding loans jumped 84.6 percent last year to 31.6 trillion dong, or just 42 percent of deposits raised during 2007, the statement said.

Vietnam's overall loans jumped 34 percent last year to an estimated 930 trillion dong, above the central bank's credit growth target of 18-22 percent, industry figures show.

The Planning and Investment Ministry said Vietnam should control its credit growth this year at 22-25 percent as inflation reached 12.63 percent in December from a year earlier.

Deposits by banks in Vietnam grew 36.5 percent last year. The country has 85 million people but only 8.2 million of them have bank accounts, up from 5 million in 2006.

Standard Chartered Plc. (STAN.L) owns 8.56 percent of ACB, the largest stake of four foreign shareholders which together hold a combined 30 percent.

Last November, Moody's Investors Service assigned a Bank Financial Strength Rating of D to ACB, citing "good credit fundamentals with strong liquidity, excellent asset quality, good efficiency and strong profitability".

Last year, ACB formed ACB Leasing to finance small- and medium-sized firms. The company is ACB's third outside its core banking business. The others are a brokerage and an assets management firm. ($1=16,108 dong) (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by Michael Battye)



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