The Agricultural Bank of China, one of the nation's "big four" state banks, said on Friday its operating profits rose nearly 18 percent in the first half of the year from the same 2005 period to 25.7 billion yuan (3.2 billion U.S. dollars).

Its non-performing loan ratio fell by 2.4 percent from the beginning of the year, the bank said in a statement. However, it did not provide the current NPL figure.

ABC said it would boost loans and credit to agriculture and rural economy, a traditional customer base for the bank, and actively support small enterprises this year.

The bank, still plagued by large amounts of unpaid loans, is the only one among the "big four" banks, which include the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Bank of China and the China Construction Bank, that have yet to initiate reforms covering a transition to shareholding companies and public listings.

Source: Xinhua