Shenzhen Development Bank Co, controlled by buyout firm TPG Inc, said profit may have doubled in the first nine months of the year, driven by growth in loans and deposits and a lower tax rate.

The bank said profit in the first three quarters climbed to as much as 1.96 billion yuan (US$259.3 million) from a restated figure of 972 million yuan in the same period a year earlier, according to a preliminary statement yesterday.

(Shanghai Daily October 15, 2007)