Chinese banking sector made a total profit of 268.97 billion yuan (US$35.8 billion) in the first six months of 2007, according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).

The CBRC said the non-performing loan ratio of the country's banks had dropped to 8.98 percent by the end of June from 17.9 percent in 2003 when their combined profits stood at 32.28 billion yuan.

Meanwhile, total assets of the banks nearly doubled to 48.5 trillion yuan from 26.5 trillion yuan in 2003, boosted by the country's double-digit economic growth.

Chinese banks are becoming more well known with major rating institutions raising the ratings for the nation's banking sector as a whole.

Thirty-one Chinese banks were listed among the world's top 1,000 banks, according to rankings released by the Banker magazine in July. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China ranked third and sixth respectively in terms of core capital.

(Xinhua News Agency October 6, 2007)