BoC Net Income Growth Slows, Misses Estimates

Bank of China Ltd. posted its slowest profit growth in nine quarters as government efforts to cool inflation curbed loan demand and higher interest rates drove up funding costs at the nation’s third-largest lender.

Net income increased 9.4 percent to 29.8 billion yuan ($4.7 billion), the Beijing-based bank said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange yesterday. Profit missed the 31.6 billion- yuan median estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Smaller rival Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. said profit climbed 40 percent to 34.1 billion yuan.   Full Read