New third board hits 93 bln yuan turnover THE cumulative turnover of China’s main over-the-counter (OTC) equity market has reached 93 billion yuan (US$14.4 billion) so far this year. The National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), also known as the “new third board,” registered a turnover of 4.2 billion yuan in the transaction week spanning Aug. 23 to Aug. 27. As of Friday, there are 7,311 companies on the board. Launched in 2013, the board aims to offer small and medium-sized enterprises a new financing channel with low costs and simple listing procedures. China’s forex market turnover rises in July CHINA’S foreign exchange (forex) market saw a turnover of 21.32 trillion yuan (US$3.29 trillion) in July, up from 20.33 trillion yuan in June, official data showed. Specifically, the turnover of forex transactions between banks and their clients totaled 3.1 trillion yuan, while that of interbank forex transactions stood at 18.22 trillion yuan, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. In the first seven months of the year, the country’s forex market turnover totaled 133.95 trillion yuan, the data showed. PICC reports rise in H1 revenue, net profit THE People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited (PICC), the country’s leading insurer, registered an increase in revenue and net profit in the first half of this year (H1). The insurer’s business revenue reached 344.1 billion yuan (US$53.05 billion) in the first six months, up 2.2 percent year on year. Its net profit attributable to shareholders of its parent company amounted to 16.9 billion yuan, up 34 percent year on year. Industrial Bank records 23% rise in net profits INDUSTRIAL Bank Co. Ltd., one of the first batch of joint-stock commercial banks on the Chinese mainland, saw its net profits up 23.08 percent year on year in the first half of 2021. Its net profits attributable to shareholders stood at 40.11 billion yuan (about US$6.18 billion) in the reporting period, said the bank in a statement. Total operating revenue reached nearly 109 billion yuan in the first six months, an increase of 8.94 percent year on year, the bank said. By the end of June, the bank’s total assets topped 8 trillion yuan, up 2.73 percent from the beginning of this year. | 