CHINA'S FIRST JOINT VENTURE BANK REPORTS PROFIT China's first joint venture bank, Xiamen International Bank (XIB), reported a group net profit of about 14 mln Hong Kong dlrs in 1986, the bank's first full year of operation. General manager Liu Shuxun declined to give a 1987 profit forecast, saying targets were under study. Assistant general manager Wang Hongshan said the group's outstanding loans at end-1986 totalled 620 mln Hong Kong dlrs, up from 530 mln at end-1985. Deposits and interbank borrowings rose to 680 mln dlrs from 550 mln, he told Reuters. Liu said most of the group's profit came from the parent company rather than its two wholly-owned subsidiaries <Xiamen International Finance Co Ltd> in Hong Kong and <Luso International Bank Ltd> in Macao. The joint venture bank began operating in September 1985 but did not officially open until March 1986. Liu said the share in the joint venture of the foreign partner, Hong Kong-listed <Panin Holdings Ltd>, had been cut last year to 49 pct from 60 pct. This was done because foreign banks felt the XIB's reputation would be improved if the three Chinese partners collectively held a majority stake, he said. Liu said news reports about problems concerning Panin were unfounded, but he did not elaborate. Panin Holdings reported a loss of 1.99 mln Hong Kong dlrs in 1986 after a net profit of 268,000 dlrs in 1985. The Chinese partners are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Fujian branch, whose share rose to 23.5 pct from 15, Fujian Investment and Enterprise Corporation 17.5 pct (15) and Xiamen Construction and Development Corporation 10 pct (10). One foreign banker said Xiamen International Bank faced the same problems as foreign bank branches in trying to compete on unequal terms with state-owned banks. The foreign banking market in Xiamen is thin and almost saturated, he added. Officials of the joint venture bank said they benefitted from contacts made through its three Chinese partners. But the foreign banker, who asked not to be named, said it faced internal competition from the Industrial and Commercial Bank. Apart from Xiamen International Bank and the International Agricultural Development Bank planned by the World Bank and the state-owned Agricultural Bank of China, Xiamen has eight foreign bank branches or representative offices, mostly of Hong Kong or overseas Chinese banks.