Huaxia Bank net profits up 21 pct in 2013

Net profits of Huaxia Bank, Deutsche Bank's Chinese partner, rose 21.17 percent in 2013 from the previous year to 15.51 billion yuan (2.52 billion U.S. dollars).

The profit increase was attributed to a steady expansion of its assets, fast growth of its small company and personal loan business, and effective cost control, the bank said in its annual report filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Thursday.

The Beijing-based mid-sized lender said its total assets hit 1.67 trillion yuan at the end of December, up 12.33 percent from a year earlier.

Huaxia Bank started operating in Beijing in October 1992, and went public in September 2003 as the fifth Chinese listed bank.

The stock price of the company dipped 0.58 percent to close at 8.54 yuan per share on Thursday.