UOB says Q3 profit up 5.3 pct, beats forecast

SINGAPORE, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Singapore's United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI) said on Friday its third-quarter net profit rose 5.3 percent, beating forecasts, on higher investment gains that offset a jump in bad debt charges.

UOB posted a net profit of S$500 million ($358 million) in the July-September period, compared with S$475 million a year earlier.

Analysts had predicted a net profit of S$463 million, according to an average forecast from six analysts polled by Reuters.

The outlook for Singapore banks, like their Asian peers, has improved as bad debts are showing signs of peaking for most banks due to a recovery in regional economies, while strong capital markets are boosting income from trading and fees.

Rival Singapore lender OCBC (OCBC.SI) reported on Wednesday an unexpected 12 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by lower bad debt charges and trading gains that overcame writedowns on toxic debt linked to its insurance unit. (Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Neil Chatterjee)