On Apr. 29, 2024, China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) (Stock code: SH: 601939; HK: 00939) reported operating results for the first quarter of 2024 (The following data for the Group were prepared in line with International Financial Reporting Standards and denominated in RMB). As of Mar. 31, 2024, the total assets amounted to RMB39.73 trillion, up by 3.66%. Total liabilities reached RMB36.47 trillion, up by 3.74%; net profit reached RMB86.907 billion, down by 2.51% YOY. The annualised return on average assets stood at 0.89%; the annualised weighted average ROE was 11.59%, continuing to maintain the superior level of the industry. It had a capital adequacy ratio of 19.34%, a first-tier capital adequacy ratio of 15.04% and a core first-tier capital adequacy ratio of 14.11%, all satisfying the regulatory requirements. The NPL accounted for 1.36%, the provision coverage was 238.17% and the asset quality remained stable.

With Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guideline, CCB stuck to correct business philosophy, performance philosophy and risk philosophy; focused on main responsibilities and main businesses; strived to promote its businesses; maintained a balance between total revenue and business structure, between scale and profitability, between short-term and long-term development, between local and global development and between development and safety; unswervingly promoted intension and intensive development and took concrete measures to reduce costs of clients; made significant progress in "five major areas"; served the construction of "three major projects"; accurately funded key areas of the national economy and social development, and supported the effective development of the substantive economy. As of Mar. 31, 2024, its amount of distributed loans and advance payments was increased by RMB1.17 trillion and its financial investment was increased by 247.151 billion compared with those at the end of 2023. Its balance of deposit increased by RMB1.71 trillion over that at the end of last year, thus providing strong supports to the stable growth in core assets.

Fostered advantages in hi-tech finance and strengthened supports to new quality productive forces. CCB improved the service and support system to provide diversified, seamless, all-around and comprehensive financial services to hi-tech enterprises. The loans for strategic emerging industry and hi-tech industry amounted to RMB2.68 trillion and RMB1.8 trillion respectively, both registering rapid growth. CCB moved faster to promote the "value" service system for hi-tech finance and deepened the evaluation of technological developments and the application of pilot reform fruits. It gave rein to the advantages of integrated commercial and investment banking to strengthen supports to direct financing to hi-tech enterprises, and multiple projects of stock-bond businesses of hi-tech and strategic emerging enterprises were implemented in the first quarter.                                                                                            

Deepened the development of green finance and promoted the all-around green social and economic transformation. CCB built a diversified service system covering green credit, green bonds, green funds and green investments. It had a balance of RMB4.45 trillion in green loans, up by 14.56% as compared with that at the end of 2023. It practiced the "liability + value" investment, maintained investments in green debentures and implemented more than 100 green debenture investments and transactions cumulatively in the first quarter. It focused on the investment and financing needs of transformation; created diversified green financing channels; and underwrote multiple green non-financial debt financing instruments with a scale of RMB2.513 billion in the first quarter.

Optimized inclusive finance services and promoted the effective merger with countryside revitalization. CCB continuously increased the service coverage, availability and satisfaction index. The loan balance of inclusive finance reached RMB3.28 trillion, up by RMB234.903 billion over the year-end of 2023; 3.41 million clients of inclusive finance loan, up by 240,100 over the year-end of the 2023. "CCB Huidongni" had 2.32 million loan clients with a loan balance of RMB1.98 trillion. CCB continuously improved the countryside revitalization comprehensive service system and enriched the agriculture-related credit product system and the financial service scenarios. The balance of agriculture-related loans amounted to RMB4.21 trillion, up by RMB387.611 billion over the year-end of 2023. "Yunongtong" APP had 15.13 million registered users, up by 1.46 million over that at the end of last year.

Developed the brand of "pension finance" and improved the pension finance service system. CCB released the brand of "Jianyang'an" for pension finance. It continuously promoted social security card business and improved the customer experience in card application and use; improved the synergy of parent company and subsidiary; promoted the quality and diversity of annuity businesses and stably increased the scale of trust management of pension funds; took the lead in the development of personal pension fund account and continuously diversified the system of pension products in deposit, fund, wealth management and insurance. It established the first batch of 60 outlets featuring pension finance and preferentially developed the four major features of product equity, elderly service, pension investment and pension microecology.

Facilitated the digitalization process and actively enabled the construction of digital China. CCB formulated the 2024 action plan for digital financial service development and clarified the group's digitalization goals and tasks. It deepened the integrated development of "binary star" and accumulated 547 million individual users online. It continuously improved the payment environment of international travelers in China and the elderly group and improved the convenience of payment from the perspectives of product process optimization, scenario and ecology construction, channel service experience, etc.

Fully availed the professional advantages and fully supported the "three major projects". CCB actively provided project matching and comprehensive services, realized the matching of all projects in the first list in the sector of indemnificatory housing and became the first commercial bank to sign an individual housing loan service agreement for indemnificatory housing; matched 271 projects in the "normal and emergency use" sector; matched 507 projects in the sector of downtown village renovation. The balance of loans for corporate residential property leasing amounted to RMB348.615 billion, wherein the balance of mortgage loan for indemnificatory housing was RMB141.422 billion; supported more than 1,000 national indemnificatory housing projects.

Continuously strengthened all-around risk management and put various types of risks under control generally. CCB accurately mastered the all-around risk prevention and control conditions; firmly stuck the bottomline, i.e. no systematic financial risk; strengthened the integrated management and control of the group's credit risks, and continuously optimized the concerted risk control mechanism of "three defense lines". It strengthened risk management of key industries, key areas and key products, including real estate, local debt, etc.; continuously strengthened disposal of bad debts and attached great importance to the diversified risks hidden in the emerging sectors. CCB strengthened lean management and control and comprehensively promoted cost management. It continuously strengthened data governance to ensure data security and put all risks under general control.

This year, the external environment is increasingly complex and harsh; the global economic growth lacks steam and the interest rate of developed economies remains high. China's economic uptrend and quality development continue although such challenges as inadequate effective demands are still there. In face of complicated external operating environments, CCB will continue to implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's major statements and major instructions to financial work, and implement the guiding principles from the 20th CPC National Congress, the Central Financial Work Conference and the Central Economic Work Conference. It will always cherish the public and people-oriented nature of financial work. With facilitating the development of a strong financial nation as the goal, CCB will firmly promote intension and intensive development; keep enhancing the comprehensive service ability, and financial risk prevention & control capability and improving financial development quality and efficiency. It will strengthen financial supports to new quality productive forces; realize the benign cycle of high-quality social and economic development and high-quality development of the bank, making its due contributions to Chinese-style modernization and the development of China as a strong financial nation.