People stand at a branch of China Merchants Bank in Shanghai January 20, 2010. [Agencies]
China Merchants Bank, a mid-sized Chinese lender, said on Wednesday its net profit rose over 50 percent in the first half, based on domestic accounting standards.
The lender said in a preliminary earnings statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that the gain came as the result of expanding business and a wider spread between deposit and lending rates.
Chinese firms are required to make such preliminary statements ahead of final results when their earnings rise or fall by more than 50 percent.
