Suning, one of China's leading home appliance retailers, saw its net profits more than double in 2006 due to rapid expansion.

The retail giant reported 720 million yuan (90 million U.S. dollars) in net profits last year, up 105.43 percent over 2005.

Sales revenue reached 24.9 billion yuan, up 56.42 percent year on year, of which sales of televisions, cell phones and computers accounted for more than 50 percent.

Sun Weimin, president of Suning, attributed the soaring gains to business expansion and lowered management costs.

Suning has 351 stores across China, of which 145 were opened last year.

In the latest China rich list by U.S. financial magazine Forbes, Zhang Jindong, chairman of Suning, ranked fifth on the Chinese mainland, with an estimated wealth of two billion U.S. dollars.

Source: Xinhua