SHANGHAI, Aug. 23 (AP) -- Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the country's biggest lender, said Thursday its first-half net profit rose 62 percent from a year earlier, boosted by higher interest income and an expansion of its intermediary business.

ICBC's net profit for the six months ended June 30 was 41.04 billion yuan (US$5.4 billion; £á4 billion) under international accounting standards, up from 25.4 billion yuan (US$3.3 billion; £á2.5 billion) a year earlier.

The bank, whose shares began trading in Hong Kong and Shanghai in October, said its interest income in the first half of the year rose 33 percent to 102.2 billion yuan (US$13.5 billion; £á10 billion).

The bank raised US$21.9 billion (£á16.2 billion) in October in the world's biggest initial public offering ever.