China CITIC Bank Corp, the banking unit of the nation's largest investment firm, said profit rose 163 percent in the first half on higher lending and fee income as well as a lower tax rate.

Net income rose to 8.42 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion), or 0.22 yuan a share, from 3.22 billion yuan, or 0.10 yuan, a year earlier, Beijing-based CITIC Bank said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday, citing Chinese accounting standards.

CITIC Bank, controlled by conglomerate China CITIC Group, expanded lending by 10 percent in the first half on demand from corporate customers as China's economy and fixed-asset investments continued to grow, Bloomberg News reported. The lender increased loans by an average 23 percent over the past three years, the highest in the industry, Citigroup Inc said.

Chinese banks extended 2.45 trillion yuan of local-currency loans in the first half, taking the total to 28.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 14 percent from a year ago.

CITIC Bank's net interest income rose 62 percent to 18.2 billion yuan. Net interest margin, a measure of lending profitability, widened to 3.21 percent from 2.82 percent a year ago as banks re-priced loans following six interest rate increases last year.

Net fees and commissions from services jumped 128 percent to 1.38 billion yuan.