Lippobank's profit up

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly-listed Lippobank announced on Saturday that its consolidated net profit for the fist six months of this year grew by 39.5 percent to Rp 45.9 billion (US$20.27 million), compared to Rp 32.9 billion in the same period of last year.

Lippobank said in a statement that the increase of its net income was attributed to the higher volumes of interest and fee revenues, a lower tax rate for this year and firm control over operating expenses.

The bank's loans rose by 9.1 percent during the January-June period to Rp 5.68 trillion.

Lippobank's president Markus Permadi said fund mobilization remained robust, with customer deposits growing by 41.9 percent within a year to Rp 6.69 trillion as of June.

Lippo, established in 1948, recorded a 32.1 increase of its total assets to Rp 7.71 trillion as of June over the 12-month period and 11.5 percent since the end of 1994. (rid)