Vietnam BIDV says H1 gross profit jumps 44 pct y/y

HANOI, July 8 (Reuters) - State-run BIDV, Vietnam's second-largest lender, said on Tuesday its gross profit during the first half of this year jumped 44 percent from the same period last year to 604 billion dong ($36.6 million).

Total assets of the Hanoi-based Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, reached 224.26 trillion dong at the end of last month, 10.3 percent up from the same period last year, Chairman Tran Bac Ha told a news conference.

Ha said the bank would cut its lending rates in both Vietnamese dong and foreign currencies from Wednesday, with a reduction of up to 0.6 percentage points per year for dong loans and 2 percentage points per year on dollar loans. ($1=16,522 dong)