Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited

Dear investors, analysts, and friends from the media, good afternoon and welcome to ICBC's 2026 interim results announcement. I am Dong Jianjun. Our interim results have been released. We'd like to thank global shareholders for your recognition and support for our investment value. We've attached great importance to IR, media relations, and market capitalization management. We've been maintaining open, candid and efficient communication with global investment research institutions and the media. For 20 years since our listing, we've always worked together with our investors. Here I'd like to express our sincere thanks to all shareholders and friends from the media for your long-term support. Today's announcement is held both on-site in Beijing and through a global webcast. We are also pleased to have some investors, analysts, and media friends here with us in person. First, let me introduce the members of our senior management and the directors attending today's announcement. President Liu Jun, SEVP Mr. Wang Jingwu, Zhang Weiwu, Yao Mingde, Zhang Shouchuan, and Zhao Guide, Board Secretary Mr. Tian Fenglin, and our directors. Mr. Dong Yang, Ms. Zhong Nantao, and Liu Fang, Ms. Walter Horn, and Mr. Chen Guanjin and Li Weiping. Now I'd like to invite our Board Secretary, Mr. Tian Fenglin, to present our interim results. Investors, analysts, and friends from the media, good afternoon. Welcome to ICB 52026 Interim Results Announcement. Thank you for the continued interest and support. Let me walk you through the highlights of our operations for half one. This year, guided by party building and driving our five transformations, we've had a strong start to the first half of the five-year plan. The traits of being large, stable, excellent, and strong are shining through the foundation for high-quality development and high-level security. More solid are value creation, market competitiveness, market influence, and risk management capabilities keep improving, resulting in a high-quality maybe-your-answer sheet that shows clear upward momentum for steady progress in business with by the end of June. Our total assets were 57 trillion yuan per half month. Operating revenue was 446 billion, up 9% YOY. Fee income had 69 billion, up 3.3%. And net profit reached 176 billion, up 4.54%. Our NIM was at 1.29%, up one bit from last year. NPR ratio was 1.29%. down two bips from the end of last year, showing improvements in asset quality. Capital adequacy ratio was 18.57%, provision coverage ratio 217.58%, keeping our risk-buffering capacity solid. On the balance sheet side, loans reached nearly 32 trillion. Investments hit 18.63 trillion, up 1.73 trillion, or 10.2%. Deposits were 39 trillion, up 1.86 trillion, or 5%, to give investors an even better sense of reward, and backed by the strong results, we raised our interim cash dividend payout ratio to 31% for 2026, after corporate governance procedures will pay out 1.511 yuan per 10 shares, tax-inclusive, totaling about 50% Thank you for your attention. are constantly improving our forward-looking early warning and bottom-line controls, building out a comprehensive risk management system. Our enterprise-level smart risk control platform is now fully live. Views, measurements, early warning, and decision-making, the four centers are established. Our NTI ratio was 1.29. The loan provision ratio was 2.8%. Provision coverage ratio was 217.58%, up 3.98 percentage points. Thank you very much. Almost $4 trillion in pension finance. Total assets under management hit $6.52 trillion, up 10.29% in digital finance. Loans through core digital economy industries reached $1.26 trillion, up almost 20%. We wrote out our RMB CFS. We were also approved by jointly serve as the RMB clearing bank in Africa with Standard Bank of South Africa. Bending our RMB Clearing Network to 19 African countries where the Standard Bank Group operates. In half, one cross-border RMB business volume hit 5.5 trillion. In Digital and Intelligent Momentum, we are fast-tracking the building of AI ICBC and creating a 1 plus 1 plus 3 system. The first one is enhancing ICBC Zhiyong Tech Foundation, rolling out the pilot AI Plus initiative. so that ICBC stays in the top tier of domestic free tech development. The second one is building up the ICBC data vault space, forming an enterprise-level data application ecosystem, supporting our business. The three refers to building three small smart platforms, forming an ICBC AI agent matrix for corporate clients, retail clients, and our employees. While giving our 400,000 employees a new tool to boost the economy, the exclusive AI agent for personal relationship managers delivered over 22 million service interactions on comprehensive services where a centurion client needs to provide a CFF. The incremental growth in loan and bond investment top $3 trillion. We are deepening the ICBC tech finance equity service brand and pushing under AIC equity pilot business. Our costly scale hit $33.7 trillion, ranking first in the industry of securities investment, insurance assets, pensions, and QD products. We have provided treasury services to 17,000 core Enterprises. Overseas institutions have total assets of $511 billion USD and pre-tax profit of $3 billion up 15% YOY. The net profit was $12.9 billion up 65%. On the ecological system, we are making solid strides in fundamental GBC Plus projects to drive Thank you for your attention. Through our 10,000 miles 20 marketing campaign, the three ends of GDC are driving traffic to each other and mutually empowering one another, building a great internal circulation fund. We are organically integrating ESG and sustainable development into our operations. Looking ahead, ICBC will step up as a leading bank, as main force serving the real economy, the blast for financial stability, the trailblazer for operational excellence, and the benchmark Mark for strengthening core responsibilities. We will keep our strategic focus step of execution. We will make sure we get the 55-year plan off to a great start to ensure a sustainable value return for domestic and overseas shareholders. To give you more opportunity to raise questions, we suggest each question for one guest and please identify yourself before raising questions. Now for the first question, the lady on the left in the first row. Thank you very much. I'm Shen Jun from Huatai Securities. Congratulations. ICBC achieved impressive results. My question is, could you highlight the highlights for half one and for the full year, what is your outlook for revenue and net profits? We have seen that since this year. The banking has entered into deposit repricing trend. Could you share with us the change? And what is your outlook for NIM trajectory? Thank you. Thank you for your question. Regarding the half-wine results, the board and management rate them as proactive and progressive. This is not only because we further consolidated our operational foundation in a complex environment, but also because our strategic transformation is continuously turning potential into momentum. Here, I'd like to expand on board Secretary Tian Feng's overview. First, this progress benefits from the full recovery of our value engine. In half one, the group achieved operating revenue of RMB 446 billion, up 9.1 YOY. Approaching double-digit growth on such a high base is not easy. While deposit repricing helps, it is fundamentally the result of synchronized revenue boosting measures across the entire chain. Structurally, NII, non-interest income, and net fee income all rebounded. All four segments, domestic, overseas, subsidiaries, and head office, and retail, corporate, institutions, and markets achieved positive revenue growth. Behind the strong restart of this value engine is our consistent principle of shared responsibility of business lines and regional blocks. We anchor the business orientation of both lines and blocks on value creation. We build a strong link between process and results. We earn the trust of the market, shareholders, and employees. Second, our proactive approach demonstrates confidence and discipline in risk management. From the data in half one, we marked RMB 8, 1.9 billion of resources for NPL write-offs, representing the strongest efforts in recent years. As a result, NPL ratio was reduced to 1.29%. Provision coverage ratio increased by nearly 4 percentage points. Our attitude is that we do not seek short-term gains We focus on addressing existing risks. We do not pursue absolute targets alone. We aim for sound and stable fundamentals. We do not seek zero risk. We pursue a rational class balance between returns and risk-cost finance. Ultimacy reflects real economic changes, and the real economy will inevitably be reflected in banks' financial statements. with an asset base of 57 trillion. Our approach to balancing development and security is fundamentally not about speculative bets. It's about comprehensive allocation. The ultimate reference framework for asset allocation is a national balance sheet. This means ICBC has embedded the stabilizing foundation of the Chinese economy into the core of our asset allocation framework, allowing us to capture the long-term growth opportunities. are rising from China's development. Third, this progress is rooted in the conversion of growth drivers through reform and transformation. If half-growth rely more on scale, future development must rely on deepening reform to reshape the growth equation. Through the steady rising contribution of non-interest income overseas and subsidiary revenue in recent years, a clear trajectory has emerged. ICBC is accelerating its shift away from the single growth curve of traditional credit seeking new drivers in the vast blue oceans of comprehensive international and digital intelligence operations. Diversified operation converts licensing advantages into capabilities to serve the real economy. We have made the, for example, we support charging stations, energy storage, and computing power procurement while financing plus easing We convert network advantages into financial infrastructure that serves RMB internationalization and facilitates the dual-curve circulation. We broke the deadlock with a direct RMB conversion through a syndicated loan, cutting the client's comprehensive financing costs from over 20% to 5.7%. Relying on the group self-built clearing system, we achieved second-level instant cross-border RMB clearing. We have seen the changes. In 1980s or 90s, if internationalization means the flow of other currencies, now the internationalization means the efforts around RMB and the going global of RMB. ICBC is providing financial escorts for enterprises going global. Digital Intelligent Operation converts technological variables into core constants that reshape productivity. The fully self-controlled ICBC Zhiyong large model platform has not only taken root in over 600 scenarios, but also spilled over to industry partners, helping SMEs harness AI at a lower threshold from the point of self-empowerment to the point of eco-empowerment. This is the underlying code for our digital intelligence drive to convert old and new growth drivers. These facets are not just really funnels to ICBC's transformations, but also mark true growth matrix on our financial statements. New tracks are continuing converting to revenue inflows, hedging against the headwinds of narrowing interest rates, margin, and building new pillars for ICBC's future development. Regarding margin, The data shows a trend of marginal stabilization with deposits repricing being the most crucial supporting factor. This is a common value factor for the banking industry and large banks with their fundamentals of scale, channels, and customer base can more smoothly achieve synergy among volume, price, and risk. Of course, as the maturity volume of existing time deposits decreases and the interest rate spread between old and new products narrows, The supporting effect of the repricing dividend on NIM will gradually weaken. Therefore, we will continue to deepen the proactive fueling management of assets and liabilities. By optimizing the structure and tapping the potential for liability cost reduction, we will strive to consolidate margin stabilizing and trend. We are confident the full year in continuously forging long-term value that transcends cycles for our shareholders and investors. Thank you.

All right, I will take the second question. Sir, on the row two, in the middle, thank you for the opportunity. I'm with Everbright Securities. My question is about asset quality. What is the overall asset quality in the first half of the year? Can you elaborate on the situation of the asset quality, especially on the retail, banking, and inclusive finance? Risk control measures have you taken regarding that? And can you also elaborate us on your risk control transformation? And there is any new measures taken for the enterprise level intelligent risk control platform? SEVP, Mr. Wang will take your question. Thank you for your question. In the first half of this year, although the international environment remains complex, With many uncertainties, China's economy has demonstrated strong resilience and vitality. Against the macroeconomic backdrop of new driving force and optimizing structure, ICBC has deeply implemented the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, adhered to the main working line of preventing risks, strengthening compliance, and promoting high-quality development. anchored the goal of becoming first class and persisted in seeking progress while maintaining stability and improving quality and efficiency. We align with the national strategy to lay out total asset, optimize the credit structure, and advance various types of asset quality control. The core indicators study improved with the NPL ratio at 1.29%, at the end of H1 this year, a decrease of 2 BP from the beginning of the year, further consolidating the foundation of high-quality development. And in the corporate sector, the asset quality continues to improve. At the end of H1, the NTL ratio of corporate loans was 1.2%, dropping another 9 BP on the base of the 21 BP decrease in the previous year. We continue to focus on serving A national modern industrial system. We conduct in-depth research on industrial planning and supporting policies and fully support development of advanced manufacturing. We have an investment and financing policy system for the manufacturing industry covering seven major sectors and 22 key areas. Layout technological innovation industrial change such as AI and connected with many projects of the 15 five-year plan, such as six networks. The credit structure is deeply integrated into the national strategy for coordinating regional development. And we have this structure of large, medium, small, macro, and individual has been further improved. And for the retail and inclusive finance segments, judging from the current situation, there is still pressure on the asset quality control. which is a common problem faced by the banking industry as a whole. From the perspective of internal management, we implement the stabilizing growth, expanding domestic demand and preventing risks philosophy and adopted a series of measures such as institutional mechanism optimization and full process risk control. and at the institutional and mechanism level, we optimized the organizational structure and assessment constraints. Continue to train high quality talents adapted to the transformation development. Comprehensively strengthened promotions from customer acquisition to risk control implemented intensive post-landing Management and advanced the construction of integrated collection system for retail and inclusive finance. The front, middle and the back office, head office and branches and the various business segments have jointly formed a synergy for control. And the foundation for high quality developments At the through process risk control level, we continue to strengthen the three passes and seven color pole risk control system. In the access phase, we optimize product risk control design, connect innovative services with high value business scenarios, improve the access management and evaluation mechanism for partner institutions, deepen application of large models and perfect multi-dimensional credit strategies. By improving The accuracy of risk identification and response efficiency, we make every effort to screen and block risk at the entrance. In a duration management phase, we strengthen the iterative optimization of risk monitoring models, investigate potential risk-hidden dangers through virus methods such as negative behavior identification, and the cross verification of key indicators improve the quality and efficiency of front-end risk screening and reduce existing risk exposure. At the same time, we continue to deepen the classification management of retail and inclusive finance credit assets and move the risk resolution gateway forward by setting differentiated risk control strategies. In the risk disposal phase, we accelerate Thank you for your attention. The asset quality of retail inclusive finance loans is expected to remain within a reasonable range. And for the intelligence risk control transformation, we continue to iterate and upgrade our platform and constantly improve the integrity, synergy, and the systematicity of risk management. After the platform successfully transitioned from focusing on construction to paying equal attention to construction and application in client-side, in the H1 of this year, we continue to improve platform functions. Different applications of AI technologies strengthen coverage of retail business scenarios and empower asset quality monitoring and risk prevention and control. First, we upgrade the risk control toolbox. Strengthen the asset quality monitoring of retail businesses such as inclusive finance, personal loans and cards, enhance cross-line, cross-default warnings, improve risk screening efficiency, optimize risk control strategy deployment. And second, deepening the application of AI technology we put into production the risk control AI agent, providing digital and intelligent services such as risk knowledge Q&A, Intelligent Customer Health Checks and Risk Control Data Analysis for the First Lines of Defense, Risk Officers, Risk Managers, Reducing the Workload at the Front Line, and Third, Strengthening Full Scenario Coverage. Currently, the enterprise-level intelligent risk control platform has been promoted and applied in all domestic branches. Some Sub-Degrees and oversee institutions covering 323 business scenarios such as fund trading, product access, channel touchpoint and risk resolution and encompassing various business processes such as product access, credit granting, lending and collections. It has achieved practical risk control results in multiple aspects such as risk prevention and control. Thank you for your question.

The third question, the lady on the right in the first row. I'm from Phoenix team. How did ICBC's international business performing have won recently? PBOC has been stepping up after RMB. Liquidity Support and Expanding Offshore SS Supply and ICBC's Overseas Clearing Network has also been expanding. Could you share what measures ICBC has taken to help drive internationalization of RMB and what results you have achieved? Thank you. ICBC has been aligning our internationalization with the country's opening up strategy. We are balancing growth with security and doing our part to support the domestic international circulation. This shows in three areas. First, our international business has been growing steadily. By the end of June, our overseas network reached 69 countries and regions with branches in 32 Belt and Road countries. covering six continents and major global financial hubs. By the end of June, our total overseas assets topped 500 billion USD up 11% YOY and 4% in the year beginning. Pre-tax profit made up around 10% of the group's total. The contribution to the group is steady growing up and asset quality remains stable. Second, global service capabilities keep getting better. We are steadily boosting our ability to provide global integrated, coordinated services We are giving business our CFS. We've rolled out signature products like ICBC speed remittance, ICBC e-instance transfer. All this helps companies speed up their settlement and fix the financing pinpoints when expanding overseas. Using our clean resettlement payments and custody services along with new platforms like QR codes and third-party payments, we are constantly improving experience of the customers. The total credit balance for foreign trade companies grew by 12%. The international settlement handled by our domestic branches jumped 41% YOY. The FX hedging ratio for our corporate clients climbed to 36%, ranking first among the big five. Our global paid direct overseas service now covers 42 countries. Our cross-border and offshore custody assets broke the 3 trillion yuan mark. Third, we've continued to deepen our international cooperation platform. We've performed our role as the Chinese chair of the BRICS Business Council for certain incorporation. We've also kept expanding and upgrading the China-Europe Business Union, which covers 136 countries across 20 countries, including 51 Fortune Global 500 firms. Through BRBR, we are supporting the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative. Our members and observers have grown to 216 institutions covering 79 countries and regions. Like the CIIE, the Canton Fair, the China Fair, we leverage major international expos. We are helping build the export China brand. About RMB internationalization, this has always been a strategic priority for our international business. Since this year, we've been pushing hard on three main fronts. First, we keep broadening the use cases of cross-border RMB. We launched the campaigns, rolled out comprehensive cross-border RMB financial solutions, including 10 major services, Focusing on new quality productive forces, digital trade and Chinese companies going global. For key clients, groups like SOEs, commodity traders, multinationals, and SOE, we have tailored services plans. We have one, our group handles 55.5 trillion yuan in cross-border IMB. The cross-border IMB settlement jumped by 299 billion. A 34 increase ranking first among big four. For central SOEs, the settlement volume grew by 34% and for cell commodities, it surged by 70%. Second, we keep improving the cross-border IMB payments and clearing network. We're building up our clearing infrastructure, upgrading our service capabilities, strengthening the role our IMB clearing bank play in nurturing offshore IMB market. We already have IMB clearing banks in 12 countries. In June, we were approved to serve as a joint RMB clearing bank for Africa, meaning our clearing network now stretches into 19 African countries where Standard Bank operates. Our clearing capacity keeps growing year by year. In half one, a clearing volume handled by us rose by 16% YOY.

Third, we keep stepping up our ability to serve the offshore RMB market.

We closed first. offshore bond investment deal in the Shanghai FTZ involving investors from trade free trade accounting units boosting Shanghai's push to become international financial center we rank top in the market for trading volume number of participating institutions we have one our groups offshore RMB forex market making and client driven trading volume group by 36% client base extended by 16% We are actively serving overseas institutional investors across 70 countries and regions. The volume of interest rates of forex trades we made with these investors jumped by 23%. Our market share hit 15% of almost one percentage point. We've also been actively involved in building Hong Kong International Gold Trading Center as a direct bearing institution for Hong Kong gold. We executed the very first batch of trades Looking ahead, we'll keep focusing on serving the real economy and the new development paradigm. We'll strengthen our integrated operations at home and abroad and keep enhancing our ability to provide global allocation. Through all this, we aim to contribute even more to the country's high standard opening up. Thank you.

Thank you. The first question, we'll take questions online. Can you hear me? Yes, please. Thank you. This is BOA Securities. I'm Winnie. Congratulations on your first half results. I have a question for the non-interest income. What are the main driving factors of the growth in the fee in the first half of the year? How about other non-interest income? What is the outlook for non-interest income for the whole year? What are the core revenue generating parts and growth strategy of ICBC wealth management business? ICBC Mr. Yao will take your question. Thank you for your question. In the first half of this year, our bank responded to the changes in the complex external environment, continuously improved financial services, comprehensive financial services capabilities, and seized face market opportunities. achieved non-interest income RMB 104.9 billion, YOY increase of 9.9%. In terms of fee and commission income, we achieved income RMB 69.2 billion in the first half, a YOY increase of 3.3%, the total volume manifested, maintained its market-first position, and the increment achieved leading position. First, the wealth management sector continues to lead in efficiency enhancement. Our bank deeply cultivated the comprehensive plus digital and intelligent and synergistic wealth management system. Seize opportunities for capital markets recovery in the warming gold allocation. Strengthen coin investment research capability. The income from corporate wealth management, personal wealth management, and private investment Banking business increased by 24% and 15% worldwide respectively. Among them, income from agency precious band of business, fund sales agency, WM sales agency increased by 103%, 60%, and 7% respectively. Scale of pension business expanded rapidly, driving a 38% increase in related income. Second, the basic product sector built a solid and stable support, relying on the Huge China channel networking customer base. The basic product sector continue to consolidate of the bank serving the real economy. People's livelihoods. The income from filament and cash carrying and cash management business increased by 0.9%, mainly because our bank sees opportunity of exchange rate fluctuations actively responding to complex changes in international situations. And the income from the foreign exchange exchange settlement and sales for customer foreign exchange trading increased by 7%. Income from the bank acceptance bills and letters of credit, corporate international settlements and international and domestic factoring increased by 20%. In addition, the scale of asset custody grew well with income increasing by 80%. Thus, asset service sector transformed and upgraded its quality in the First half of 2006, the group securitizing service income increased by 7% worldwide. Bound unwriting, underwriting, and insurance income increased by 1.4%. The income from investments, banking, advisory, and consulting, syndicated loans, etc. remained stable.

In terms of other non-interest income,

We achieved online interest income of RMB 35.7 billion, significant worldwide increase of 25.3%. In terms of bond investment, the liquidity condition may lose in the first half and the center of the bond yields move down. Taking the 10-year government bond example, the yield dropped by 11 BPs from 1.85% at the beginning of the year, to around 1.73%. Our index rose by 19.8% in Shanghai. Composite index rose by 3.2%. Our banks strengthened the guidance of investment research focused on key areas. We focused on key areas such as the five major priorities and new quality productive forces to optimize it. Equity Investment Layout, achieved income RMB 15 billion while serving the real economy well, and increased RMB 9 billion compared to the same period, a worldwide increase of 140%. Looking ahead, opportunity and challenges for development of non-interest business are intertwined. On the one hand, proactive macro policy continues to exert force. The support for stabilizing growth and expanding domestic money is increasingly increasing, driving the transformation and upgrading the real economy. The fundamentals of the capital market is generally improving, and the pace of domestic consumption recovery is steadily advancing, so foundations for development of non-interest business continue improving. At the same time, the patient capital investment is in hard technology sectors are gradually entering the harvest period. and supporting role of equity investments become increasingly significant. On the other hand, affected by the continuous implementation of policies reduce corporate comprehensive financing costs. And regarding the development of WM business, we will focus on buying, bio-thinking, energetic transformation, online, offline integration to create new growth engines and Enhanced Revenue Contribution and WM Business promote high-quality developments of the Bank WM Business in terms of transformation to actions first transformed from a product-oriented set of thinking to a customer demand-driven buyer thinking focused on the customer's real demand rather than one-sided institutional supply. We combine the use of diversified tools such as WM fund insurance and private equity to achieve dynamic adoption of the customer's all-dimensional needs such as asset preservation appreciation. And we adhere to the overall requirement promoting the synergistic transformation of WM business from product sales to account business. customer management and brand management through the value system of panoramic insights, meticulous research and selection, intelligence allocation, long-term companionship, actively advance, renew, and upgrade the SABC wealth brand, and comprehensively enhance the brand recognition, professional approval, and customer perception of our bank's wealth management business. Second, digital empowerment and optimized companionship Guided by Better Meeting Customer Assets, Allocation Needs, Taking the Construction Scenario-Based Full Lifecycle Commitment Shift as the Main Line, Relying on the Digital Tools to Empower the Service Chain, Sticking to Our Original Aspiration of Inclusive Finance. To Upgrade the Platform and Strengthen the Support, Build a Four-Dimensional Comprehensive Wealth Management Platform, Take Products, Investments, Research, and Brands, as the core service pillars, enhance differential development capabilities, continuously strengthen customers' stickiness, and thrive high-quality developments. Thank you.

The fifth question, let's come back to the audience here in the room. The lady in the middle in the second row. Xinhua News Agency, how is your half-one investments and financing? What specific steps you've taken to enhance support for tech finance? How will you further tailor your services to better support hard tech companies, startups, and other innovative tech businesses? I'll invite SVVP Mr. Zhang Shouchuan to answer this question. In half-one, we actively implemented counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustment policies. Aligning with the real economy's financing needs, we act early and precisely to help stabilize employment, businesses, markets, and expectations. Our investment and financing business showed three main features with high quality. First, steady growth in total volume with both credit lending and bond investments, our two investments growing faster than last year by the end of June. Our onshore RMB2 investments reached nearly 47 trillion, up by over 3 trillion from the end of last year, and 11.1% YOY, which is 3.5 percentage points higher than the national average. Total onshore RMB loans grew by over 1.4 trillion, a 6.4% YOY increase. 1.2 percentage points ahead of the national average, providing strong financial backing for the real economy. We also boosted financial supply in areas like consumer business and auto finance, personal business loans top $2 trillion, and personal consumer loans surged by 22%. Second, precise and well-adapted allocation, keeping us ahead in five major article loans. We deepened our modern corporate credit layouts, consolidating our traditional base, while creating new growth drivers, making our credit structure better match the broader economy. Our five major article loans were $14.5 trillion, ranking first among peers up over $1 trillion. We also wrapped up support for major projects in key areas like the two news and six networks, Using mega projects to anchor investment Loans for the two heavies exceeded 70 billion yuan putting us at the top of the industry and equipment renewal loans reached nearly 200 billion We also effectively rolled out the joint fiscal financial policy package to boost domestic demand By the end of June loans in the four fiscal subsidy areas grew by over 10% year on year Third Consolidating our core business advantages, leading the industry in multiple manufacturing metrics. On the industry side, we served manufacturing clusters called ICBC Equation Initiative, covering all 80 national-level manufacturing clusters. Our manufacturing loans balance exceeded 5.2%. 8 trillion yuan leading comparable peers in both balance and growth. Those are corporate manufacturing loans and mid- to long-term manufacturing loans are market-leading. On the commerce side, we teamed up with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, and PBOC and key commercial enterprises and associations to host events that build circulation and consumption, helping build a robust domestic market. Our trade-finance balance tops Over $1.2 trillion, we served over 9 million commercial clients, and our applications for service, consumption, and pension relanding rank first among peers. We will take the lead in implementing both existing and new policies in the future. We will focus on major national strategies, key areas, and weak spots. Making sure we precisely match high-quality corporate projects. Through high-quality investment and financing services, we aim to contribute more to high-quality economic and social development. We'll keep innovating in retail products and boosting our digital finance capabilities to unlock consumer potential. Regarding our specific actions and highlights in tech finance and how we will further target hard tech and startups, We pay high attention to tech finance. We refine our five special survey mechanisms featuring specialized institutions, targeted campaigns, exclusive products, dedicated risk control, and specific safeguards. First, we serve national strategies and boost high-level tech self-reliance. We're taking the initiative to serve the three major international tech innovation centers among emerging pillar industries. We've strengthened our industry research, product innovation, and marketing, constantly improving our ability to spot promising tech and pick the right tracks. We're deeply involved in the national major tech breakthrough systems, strongly supporting tech R&D, Among the companies that won the 2025 National Science and Technology Awards, our service coverage reached over 90%. We are actively aligning with national key P&D plans, tilting more towards specific research and enriching the financial supply for major national tech tasks. We stick to the concept of investing in people and have set up an entrepreneur scientist service to provide customized services for tech startup teams. Second, driving the integration of tech finance and manufacturing finance to support a modern industrial system. Leveraging our synergies, we are focusing on our core manufacturing business to help tech innovation and industrial innovation merge deeply. We are optimizing credit supply by innovating credit products. We've refined star products like R&D loans, cultural e-loans Base credit loans and special loans for disruptive tech innovation keeping our tech loan scale at the top of the market. We are strengthening investment loan linkages, implementing the four investment requirements for working closely with VC and industry funds to step in early in a company's life cycle, ensuring we can lend when we see an investment and use lending to boost investments. In half one, our group's subsidiaries provided loans Over 100 billion in equity financing to tech companies. We are also using the financing plus leasing feature of financial leasing to strongly support the rapid growth of companies in integrated circuits, computing power, aviation, and distributed energy in half-hour tech financing. Financial leasing disbursements surged by over 150 YOY. for facilitating the commercialization of tech achievements by building a tech finance ecosystem platform. This can draw the channels, products, tech to build a digital platform for the commercialization and ecosystem services directly targeting pain points of turning research into reality. it creates an integrated ecosystem combining all these factors so that this pushes our finance services from single point break-throughs to ecosystem building, expanding the bank's role from a credit intermediary to a resource intermediary, from a financial provider into an ecosystem in labor. Right now, 12 top tier institutions have signed including key universities like Zhejiang University and Wuhan University of Technology two high-tech zones and six tech companies and more we have a lot of reserves that is to sign Looking ahead, ICBC will keep optimizing our investments and financing logic, continuously improving our risk control and proactively deepening our service transformation to support the hard tech and startups. First, we will use CFS to provide all-around financial services, say, comprehensive financial solutions, staying client-centered and market-oriented, supported by innovation and talent. We tackle the pain points of the tech companies. We are accelerating our shift from just offering traditional credit to providing a full suite of services that cover financing, advisor, advisory, tech support, and connectivity, the four integrations. The CSS is an important part of Five Transformations. It is also a big and important channel for serve our Second, we're perfecting a full-chain, full-life cycle tech finance product system. We're refining innovative financial products and really leveraging the synergies across equity, loan bonds, insurance, leasing, and advisory businesses. This helps us better serve tech companies of different types and at different stages, especially guiding more financial resources toward early-stage startups. We are comprehensively upgrading our digital and intelligent risk control and serve capabilities at identifying a company's tech capabilities and refining our tech company evaluation models which are based on tech innovation metrics, investments and financing behaviors and business growth indicators. We use AI and big data to run smart technologies. Evaluations on tech innovators, ensuring risks and returns are well matched, and using smart finance to serve hard tech. That's all from me. Thank you. Thank you for your answer.

Let's take the sixth question. In the row three, please. I'm with the Shanghai Securities News. I want to know what are the key application scenarios for SCBC current FinTech investment? How does SCBC leverage AEI technology to empower business transformation? What measures are taken regarding the result and cultivation of tech talent? This is SCVP Mr. Zhao answering questions. Thank you. I will answer your question from three aspects. In the building of AI-ICBC, an advanced technology platform system is the foundation. ICBC profoundly grasped the general trend of a digital networked and intelligent development and actively integrated international AI-plus initiatives. We have upgraded digital ICBC to AI-ICBC focusing on building a 1 plus 1 plus 3 system. The first one is to consolidate ICBC Zhiyong Technology Foundation. We continue to implement the pilot AI plus action, make forward-looking layouts for computing power supply, enhance professional capabilities of large models, build an AI agent factory, create full-tech independently controllable large model technology system in response to endogenous defect and external attack risk of large models. and to ensure that artificial intelligence is safe, reliable and controllable. Second one is to strengthen the ICBC data repository data space, consolidate the data foundation, deepen data management, build high quality data assets, optimize the development application tool platform, expand the high value data products matrix, build an enterprise level trusted data service platform, create an open and integrated data ecosystem, Promote the compliant sharing and efficient circulation of data elements The three is to build three types of platforms for corporate, personal and employee services Relying on ICBC Zhiyong and the ICBC data space Focusing on serving customers, empowering employees We actively create new paradigms of one customer, one advisor Financial Services and a new weapon for improving quality and efficiency of one post one system continuously creating more incremental value for customer employees. Second, business innovation application is the key in building AISCPC. We adhere to application orientation, strength and value guidance and overall application of AI technology maintain a leading position at present more than 600 large model scenarios have been implemented and the workload undertaken by AI is in the first half reached 30,000 person years promoting more precise service to the real economy first improving transaction efficiency in financial markets sector we go to the global dealing intelligent dialogue trading system achieving an intelligent closed loop for the entire transaction link with the intelligent inquiry transaction ratio exceeding 96%. In asset liability factor, we have the AI plus asset liability intelligent management hub assisting in accurately predicting the trend of capital changes and promoting efficiency capital allocation. Second, innovating customer services, online and offline channels, we upgraded and launched the unified customer facing assistant, SBC Xiaozhi, Taking the lead in piloting it among peers in a mobile banking online platform, we create a conversation as service one-stop convenient experience. And third, optimizing marketing and customer acquisition in the personal finance sector would deepen the new model for human machine. Cooperative search marketing, the intelligent assistant for personal customer managers assist searching data, making analysis and generating plans. The number of service exceeding 22 million. In the private banking sectors, we build a comprehensive financial service agent, deeply mining customers' potential financial needs and shortening the time for generating service plans from several days to three hours. Fourth, strengthening risk prevention and control. Intelligence review assistant output 360,000 compliance reviews suggested in the first half of the year None of the review of opinions proposed by compliance personnel assisted increased by 130%. Fifth, improving operational efficiency. The processing speed of single entry is 25 times faster than many work and review processing efficiency is 5 times faster than before application. Third, talent team is guaranteed for AI, ACBC. The key to digital intelligence transformation lies in people. We strengthen innovation drive, adhere to talent leadership, promote deep integration of business, technology, and data, and build the financial technology and data management talent team with an adaptable scale, reasonable structure, and excellent professionalism. In terms of total value, we promote steady growth of talent team scale. Continuous increase in construction talent In key areas such as AI, data science, and cybersecurity, strengths in the cultivation of composite talents in business technology and data, adopt measures tailored to individuals to promote person-posed fit. In terms of mechanism, we implement the IT business partnership program to promote two-way empowerment between technology and businesses. At present, AI is accelerating its evolution. Digital finance is booming, as it will appear to long-term. maintain strategic determination, continue to deepen the building of AIS ABC, create long-term sustainable value for the vast numbers of investors and make greater contribution to a financial powerhouse.

The last question, I'd like to invite the gentleman on the left in the second row. Thank you very much. Congratulations. I'm Du Qinfeng from Zhou Shan Securities. My question concerns dividend. Could you walk us through ICBC's dividend policy and the thinking behind raising the payout ratio this time? Can we maintain this dividend level going forward? And how do the management view the balance between capital management and shareholder returns? I'll invite Board Secretary Mr. Tian Fenglin to answer your question. To give investors a better sense of reward, we've raised our interim dividend payout ratio to 31%, which comes to 1.511 per 10 shares, tax-inclusive. Rewarding investors have always been a top priority for us and through consistent and stable cash dividends, we're committed to sharing the fruits of our growth with shareholders. It's been 20 years since our IPO in 2006 and our annual total dividends have kept. We have paid out over 1.64 trillion RMB in cash dividends in total, the top dividend payer in the A-share market by total amount. Our annual total dividends have kept growing steadily. Our total dividends far exceed the total amount we've raised from ordinary share issuances over the years, and we've won the Best Shareholder Return Award multiple times. Meanwhile, we're constantly improving our dividend mechanism. Since 2024, following the regulator's call, we started paying dividends twice a year, combining interim and annual payouts. All of this has made our dividends much more timely and flexible. As for why we are raising the payout ratio, here's what we went into our thinking. First, we want to actually address what the market investors are asking for. Dividends are a key metric the market watches closely as a large shareholder. Our management team has always prioritized giving investors a fair return and listening to the voice of capital market. Raising the interim payout ratio is a big step for us in optimizing how we reward shareholders while keeping our dividends consistent and stable. Second, our solid performance growth gives us a strong foundation for this. Since this year, we've adapted well to market changes and stepped up Thank you very much.

Third, we need to strike a balance between rewarding shareholders and our long-term growth.

When we set our policy, we always try to find the sweet spot between shareholder interests, business growth, and capital adequacy. Keeping a reasonable amount of retained earnings is a crucial part for our internal capital reserves and vital for our long-term future. The decision to raise the payout ratio was made very clearly. We made sure it wouldn't hurt our capital adequacy or our ability to keep growing sustainably. Looking ahead, our dividend policy is a stepping stone. It needs to adapt dynamically to the broader economy regulatory guidance and how our business is actually doing. Capital management and shareholder returns go hand in hand and support each other. Capital is a bedrock for a bank to manage risk, serve the real economy, and grow over the long haul. Without enough capital, shareholder returns are like a well running dry on the flip side. Stable and predictable returns are key to keeping our market value steady and boosting investor confidence, which actually opens up More channels for us to raise external capital when we need to. Going forward, we'll keep striking balance between capital management and our policy and work hard to keep our business on a steady footing. We'll look at the whole picture, fair shareholder returns, retain earnings in external capital raising to figure out the right payout ratio. By doing so, we will keep sharpening our financial services and competitive edge, making sure investors share in the fruits of ICBC's high-quality growth.

Thank you for the questions, answers.

Dear investors, analysts, and friends from the media, due to the interest of time, we'll conclude the Q&A session. Thank you for your insightful questions, and thank you to our management team for the detailed and professional answers. Today's announcement has provided a comprehensive review of our operating performance in Q being half one. It has also been an in-depth dialogue on long-termism and value investing time. Proofs value we have created through dedicated work will continue to move forward. This interim answer sheet shows our progress toward higher quality and stronger performance reflect our confidence in driving high quality development. We will continue to stay true to the fundamentals of finance and improve our operating performance. We will continue to create long-term stable returns for global investors through investor communication meetings reserved Reverse roadshows, global roadshows, and press conferences. We will maintain close and ongoing interaction with the market. If you have any further questions, our IR and PR team will be available at any time. Thank you for your continued trust and support. We look forward to continuing to work together with you and writing more new chapters of shared value and mutual success. We look forward to seeing you again. That's all for today's announcement. Thank you.