Good afternoon. Welcome to the 2024 annual earnings call of ICBC. I'm Chen Hua from ICBC's Strategic Management and Investor Relations department. The 2024 annual report has, annual announcement has already been released. Thank you for the 880,000 investors for recognition. ICBC has been highly valued the IR and the market value management. We have maintained a frequent and effective contact with investors and media. Today's earnings call will be broadcasted globally. Now, let me introduce you to the senior management of ICBC. In Hong Kong, we have Mr. Liu Jun, President; SEVP, Mr. Duan Hongtao; SEVP, Mr. Yang Dong. In Beijing, we have SEVP, Mr. Wang Jingwu; SEVP, Mr. Zhang Weiwu; SEVP, Mr. Zhang Shouchuan; Senior Business Director, Mr. Song Jianhua; Directors, Mr. Feng Weidong, Mr. Lu Yongzhen, Madam Cao Liqun, Madam Chen Yifang, Madam Zhong Mantao, Director Dong Yang, and Director Herbert Walter.
We have department heads and heads of the branches and subsidiaries here today. Now, I will give the floor to SEVP Board Secretary for his introduction.
Friends from the media, investors, and analysts, good afternoon. Welcome to ICBC's 2024 annual results announcement. Thank you for your participation and support. Next, I will briefly report on ICBC's performance in 2024. In 2024, ICBC celebrated its 40th anniversary. Forty years is the right time for a new start. Our goal is to build a world-class, modern financial institution with Chinese characteristics. We are committed to leading, serving the real economy, maintaining financial stability, building a strong financial institution, and focusing on our main responsibility in the business. We are steadily promoting intelligence risk control, modern business layout, digital growth momentum, diversified business structure, and ecological foundation. In short, five transformations. We focus on enhancing the value creation, market competitiveness, market influence, and risk control capacities in various business fields and have delivered a good result in maintaining stable operations while making progress. Several key points.
First, we maintained stable operating performance while making progress and further enhanced our resilience. As of the end of 2024, ICBC's total assets were nearly CNY 49 trillion. Customer loans exceeded CNY 28 trillion, an increase of CNY 2.3 trillion from the end of last year. Customer deposits were nearly CNY 35 trillion, an increase of over CNY 1.3 trillion from the end of the previous years, both maintaining a global lead. The annual operating revenue was CNY 786.1 billion, and the net profit was CNY 366.9 billion, both remaining at the forefront of the domestic industry. Net interest margin 1.42%, cost-to-income ratio 29.43%, maintaining a good cost-to-income efficiency. The capital adequacy ratio was 19.39%, an increase of 29 basis points from the beginning of this year as a year, ranking among the top global banks.
NPL ratio was 1.34%, with provision coverage at 214.91%, laying a more solid foundation for our steady operation. Based on the good operational results, ICBC plan to increase—sorry. In 2024, we increased the frequency and times of dividend payout. For the first time, we paid interim dividends, so two dividends per year. The interim dividends amount to CNY 51.1 billion. After fulfilling the corporate governance procedures, we will arrange for one more year-end dividend of CNY 58.7 billion. Second, we steadily grew assets and liabilities and further improved our service quality and efficiency. As of the end of 2024, the outstanding customer loans of ICBC increased by 8.8% year-on-year. The bound investment balance increased by 20.1%, maintaining a steady and balanced pace. The scale of customer deposits increased by 3.9% year-on-year, with stability further enhanced.
We focus on the five main areas to provide better financial services to give multifaceted but connected and coordinated management systems. We enhanced the policy implementation so as to enhance the service quality. In terms of the technology finance, by the end of 2024, the technology finance loans balance was more than CNY 3 trillion. We maintain the market lead in these regards. For sci-tech companies, the equity financing exceeded more than CNY 70 billion. The green loan balance also maintains the domestic lead. The underwriting scale of the green bonds maintains a market leader domestically. In terms of the inclusive finance, the balance was CNY 2.9 trillion. The customer ingross exceeded 40%. In the pension finance, the AUM was nearly CNY 5 trillion. Customers above the age of 55 years old exceeded 200 million. The pension fund account and the deposit amount maintained a market lead.
In terms of the digital finance, the core industry loans maintained the market leading position, and the result was very significant. Third, we made steady progress in the five transformations and further released the reform momentum. The five transformations is the pivot for ICBC to transform its growth driver efficiency and quality in the new macro background, as well as a basic path for better coordinating high-quality development and high-level security. After a year of practice, we witnessed good results in transformation. In terms of intelligent risk control, we adopt proactive prevention, intelligent control, and comprehensive management. Strengthen the overall coordination, improve the CRO mechanism, and enhance the empowerment of technologies such as artificial intelligence and risk control, thereby improving the overall risk management efficiency.
By 2024, our asset quality remained stable, with NPL down by two basis points for the whole year and the provision coverage up by 0.94 percentage points for the whole year, further enhancing our risk defense capacities. Also, effective progress has also been made in risk management of key areas, with the real estate NPL down by 38 basis points for the whole year. In terms of the modern business layout, we adapt to the requirements of Chinese modernization with its own characteristics, enhance support for key areas of economic and social development, and serve the cultivation of quality productive force. In areas such as manufacturing, strategic emerging industry, and grain industry, we provide special support for them and comprehensive service consisting of equity, loan, bond, guarantee for SITEC companies. We participated in the pilot program widening the access for commercial banks, financial investment subsidiaries, and equity investment.
Also, the loans for specialized, refined, differentiated, and innovative companies up over 55% or 54% for the whole year. In terms of equity investment, ICBC has reached agreement of cooperation with enterprises in all 18 pilot cities across the country, with the intended fund scale exceeding CNY 100 billion. Also, we have comprehensively paced up our business lines to enhance our service for private companies for their high-quality development and perfected the cross-border financial services, participated in financial governance across the globe, served the higher quality opening up. In terms of the digital growth momentum, we comprehensively implemented the DICBC strategy, upgraded the digital service platform, further consolidated the two supporting systems of business and data technology, accelerated the digital and intelligent upgrade of financial services. As of the end of 2024, the MAU of our mobile banking application exceeded 200 million.
The MAU of ICBC eLive application reached 19.3 million. The annual transaction volume of the open banking exceeded CNY 375 trillion. Several bank-wide OA systems were upgraded, better empowering our employees in marketing and office efficiency. At the same time, ICBC put into use the industry's first billion-level large model, Gongying Zhiyong, into more than 20 business lines and 200 use cases, taking on the annual risk for more than 40,000 people. In terms of the diversified structure, we respond to the situation of falling interest rates and narrowing net interest margins by accelerating the adjustments of customers, business, and segment structure, opening up new growth spaces. On the customer side, we improved the structure of large, medium, small, micro, and individual customer franchise, with the proportion of micro customers up.
Also, the business, product, and asset liability structure have been further optimized, witnessing a decline in NIM narrowing from the previous years. The share of retail plus inclusive loan increment has increased, and the value contribution of financial market business has improved. At the same time, headquarters, domestic branches over in these institutions and comprehensive subsidiaries and other institutions have been more coordinated so as to enhance the synergy. In terms of the ecological foundation, we persist in integrating our own business ecology into the overall society and economy. We continued the GBC Plus program, focusing on the changes in customer demand. We follow the capital chain and strengthen the customer chain, service chain, and value chain. By 2024, we have expanded GN and BN customers by over 3.7 million, reached 170 million CN customers. The total number of individual customers is nearly 770 million.
The total number of corporate customers is 13.35 million. The scale of mobile banking customers is nearly 519 million. At the same time, we are organically integrating ESG and sustainability into the business development, further consolidating the ESG governance and continuously improving the ESG information disclosure. Looking ahead to 2025, the advantage and conditions for China's high-quality economic development continue to expand, and the prospects of Chinese modernization became even more promising. ICBC will unswervely follow the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics, actively play the leading role of banks, seek progress while making stability and promote the five transformations more deeply. By focusing on creating a clean and healthy balance sheet, a balanced and sustainable P&L statement, we will promote the coordination of asset, capital, and found deposit and low income strengths, quality, and scale.
We will better balance value creation, market position, risk control, and capital constraints so as to ensure that the key operating indicators remain robust. With higher quality development, we will create stable and sustainable value returns for shareholders, both at home and abroad.
Thank you, Mr. Duan. Next, we'll enter into Q&A session. To ensure we have more questions, we suggest that every one of you only raise one question at a time, and please state your name and organizations before asking the question. First, give the floor to Hong Kong.
Please, this lady from the first row.
Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. I'm from UBS. I would like to congratulate ICBC as the largest bank to achieve such a good result against such a complicated internal and external situations in 2024. Can you please introduce us about the business highlights last year?
What is the outlook for the operating income and profit in 2025? Can we still sustain a positive growth? Thank you.
I will take this question. Thank you for your question. This is my first time to attend earnings call as the President. Last time, when I was at the earnings call, I was representing a different bank, but I'm very happy today that I can represent the largest bank in this world. Mr. Duan just summarized the highlights before. It makes it much easier for me to give you introduction on the business highlights, but it is difficult to give an outlook into 2025. First, I will give you the business highlights to see if our highlights are consistent with that of analysts. To see the 2024 is a new year of the new journey for ICBC after its 40th anniversary.
The situation is that we have to go through a low NIM situation, and it gives us very heavy pressure. It is a short pass for us to be a leading bank in China. We have to blaze a new trail of our own. For the last year, we have been committed to the five transformations, and some of them have already had fruits and manifest in our earnings, which was introduced by Mr. Duan. Some of them are just taking its form and will have results later on. We will continue to have the manifestation in the future. I will summarize in three aspects. First, from the value creation, ICBC have already had a high ambition. We always aim high. Last year, our net profit has achieved 0.5%. Our operating income has down by 0.5%. This decrease is also the smallest among peers.
The NIM is only down by 1 basis point. Considering the internal and external environments, our value creation is still robust. We also share our dividends to our shareholders and investors. The A-share and H-share price has been up by 44% and 36%, respectively. The yield on dividend is 5.32% and 7.49% for A and for H-share. That is very remarkable for a listed company. We have sustained very positive returns to the investors. Our dividend distribution is also leading. Second, from the business development, our total asset has sustained CNY 48.8 trillion. Our total net capital was CNY 4.99 trillion. We also have made remarkable progress in IT and innovation. Facing a lacking credit, we are also playing a role to help ease that situation. We are also clearing out our high-cost loans. This is an issue that a large bank has to deal with.
If you cannot manage your liability cost, then you will have to undertake many risks. You do not want that kind of business on your balance sheet. It will also lower your quality and efficiency of your business. The RMB deposit interest rate was 1.3%. Another aspect is that we have continued to consolidate our balance sheet. Our NPL is downgoing by 1 basis point. As I just mentioned before, our net profit is growing. Actually, we did not change any accounting subjects. We have sustained a real positive growth to give returns to the investors. It showcases that we have very resilient indicators. I want to talk about changes now. Talking about ICBC, we got this impression of being resilient. In this macro environment, resilience is a word that has been brought up very frequently. That is a very important characteristic for a competitive bank.
I think this comes from our scale and our business because we have a very large and strong balance sheet, and we have a very strong customer base. Our balance sheet is matchable to our country's balance sheet. We have good resources to those important industries. We also are faced with cyclical pressure. We will continue to improve our whole product line. We will bring more momentum to the old and new business. I talk a lot about the whole product line. I understand that there may be doubts about whether we can do it, but ICBC is the largest bank in China in the world. We are so committed to do what we have made promises to. We have covered 49 countries and regions.
We are the number one shareholder of the South Africa Standard Bank, so we have reached deep into the Africa zone. We also have 11 overseas RMB clearing banks, which can help business in insurance, custodian business, and etc. According to our estimations, those two businesses take about 11% of the business. They can help us to take more growth points. If we can have two more points in our international business, if we can have two more points in our subsidies business, then we can have 5-7% of income. In this regard, we can have a more diverse balance sheet to create income and values. It can also support our growth. Last year, we also had a balance sheet for each overseas bank to help improve the synergy between the branches, subsidiaries, and the mother bank.
Now, the pre-tax profitability is already a double-digit figure, about 11%. Another thing is that we will continue to serve the real economy. If our balance sheet is only a balance sheet of liabilities and assets, it is a heavy balance sheet. It is less flexible. That is why ICBC has made efforts to build its financial services to build our second growth curve. We have a one-stop service for infrastructures, and we will recreate values. Taking an example of serving the infrastructure, ICBC is the largest agency for the capital markets. We have helped to link the invest banking, securities, and many other financial services. We will try to make our balance sheet more flexible and try to expand to more overseas businesses. Another thing is to use well of AI and fintech. Fintech is one of our strongest advantages.
I'm not a brag at the earnings call, but we have a very powerful model and a very powerful ICBC AI model that can empower our bank. ICBC embraces the new round of IT revolution. I'll give you several figures. Last year, we had this multi-billion-level AI model, which covers dozens of scenarios, which can have this digital estimation of loans extension. We will try to cut our manual work by using machines, but I'm not going to disclose to you the numbers. We will continue to improve our quotation to the clients with the help of AI and fintech. We will create more values on our applications. Back to the beginning, can we sustain a positive growth in 2025? I cannot make a very forward-looking estimation because the market will create a lot of uncertainties.
I want to make a promise here that we will be at least above the average. We will go with the market and achieve values as much as possible. For this year, we'll continue to adhere to the five transformations, continue to manage risks, and to give better results to return to our investors. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Liu. Now, let's give the floor still to Hong Kong, please.
Thank you, Senior Executives. Winnie Wu from Bank of America Securities. My question is about asset quality. Last year, ICBC showed overall robust asset quality. What industries and regions have you focused on, especially for the areas like personal business loans, consumption loans, and credit cards? We see rising NPL. What measures has ICBC done, and what is your outlook in 2025's asset quality?
I will give the floor to Mr. Wang Jingwu in Beijing.
Thank you for your question. ICBC has always safeguarded asset quality as its lifeline. In the past year, ICBC solidly implemented all decisions and arrangements made by the CP Central Committee for Financial Work, focusing on preventing risks, strengthening compliance, and promoting development. The bank centered on the five transformations, empowered the high-quality development of investment and financing, took a firm approach to group-wide credit risk management throughout the process, and maintained a good momentum of asset quality. As at the end of 2024, the NPL ratio of the group was 1.34%, down two basis points from the end of last year. This demonstrated that high-quality risk control provides strong security for ICBC in respect of asset qualities in industries. Thanks to the strong measures taken, we handled the asset quality in key industries.
In 2024, at the end of 2024, the average NPL ratio for corporate loans at domestic branches was 1.5%, down 27 basis points from the end of last year. On the basis of providing strong support for basic industries, ICBC further increased its support for fostering and developing new quality productive forces by offering differentiated policy guidance. We constantly improved the quality and efficiency of risk management. Also, at the same time, we optimized the NPL disposal system and established a direct operation management mechanism by the head office for cross-regional or large-volume difficult NPL projects. We realized more accurate risk treatment and consistently improved the efficiency and effectiveness of NPL restructuring and innovative disposal. With these efforts, NPL ratios in such industries such as manufacturing, production, and supply of electricity, we have made serious results.
In terms of real estate industry, ICBC adopted various measures in the four aspects of optimizing the increment, preventing the risks, diffusing risk, and conducting governance. While resolutely implementing the urban real estate financing coordination, ICBC guarded a strict path for the selection of new assets and focused on building a decentralized, diversified, and balanced real estate investment and financing structure and step-up efforts in the exit from real estate enterprise with risks and the disposal of relevant projects. Loans to real estate industry showed an overall trend of better quality and optimized structure. As at the end of 2024, the NPL ratio in those three stood at 4.99%, down 38 basis points from the end of last year. We can see an overall stability of the credit asset. In respect of regional asset quality, asset quality in each region was basically stable.
We solidly implemented coordinated regional development strategies, and we focused on coordinated regional development strategies. Also, we have provided a differentiated, personalized overseas institution credit risk management. Also, we did a good job in serving the high-quality Chinese enterprises going global and foreign companies investing in China so as to reach a stability of the asset qualities and a coordinated development across different regions. NPL ratios in the Yangtze River Delta, the Bohai Rim, Central China, and Western China were better than the national average. In respect of the retail sales line, although the NPL ratio rose, it remained at a controllable level. Affected by the changes in the external environment, ICBC NPL ratio in retail sales lines such as personal business loans, consumption loans, and credit card rose. We have refined the all-life cycle risk control and enhanced our credit management capacity.
From the all year, the personal business loans, consumption loans, and credit card loans, we saw some rises in NPLs, but this is in line with the general trend of the industry, and the asset quality were under well control. In terms of the personal business loans, judging from comparable peers, NPL ratio of ICBC was at a superior level. In terms of personal consumption loans, we continued to intensify forefront access and review and approval management of retail customers and kept stable asset qualities in newly issued loans. In terms of credit cards, ICBC consistently refined the risk management system for credit business. We depend on the building of differentiated risk control models and independent risk control capacity.
Looking ahead to 2025, we will further implement a series of incremental policies focusing on five major areas of national commercial banks so as to support ICBC to walk in the right direction and have a right structure of business and make a coordination between different factors in credit development so as to lay a solid foundation for the 15th five-year plan. Also, according to the arrangements made for the five transformations, we will put the credit risk management into the high-quality development mechanism so as to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of mechanism, continue to mitigate precisely the risks in key areas, to build intelligent risk control firewalls so as to ensure all kinds of risk well under control, KPIs of the credit asset maintain stable, and risks in key areas were under control so as to not happen the systematical risks.
In the current background, we see the release of the momentum and bonuses from the policies like external, internal consumption, domestic demand. We believe that the new quality productive force will continue to provide new momentum to Chinese high-quality economic development, and Chinese economy will follow the right path, maintain stable while making progress. Against this macro backdrop, ICBC will continue to enhance our efficiency and effectiveness of serving real economy. It's a real time for us to start again, make better balance, and always fight the hard battle. We will coordinate development and safety, respond to the cyclical fluctuations and market changes more actively and more effectively. We expect that the asset quality will maintain stable and well under control. Next, I will ask for another question, please. Thank you.
I'm a commercial paper from Hong Kong. My question is for serving higher quality opening up.
In 2024, what were the new advancements of ICBC's efforts to promote internationalized operation, high-level opening up? In recent years, new forms of foreign trade such as cross-border e-commerce have been rapidly developing. What financial service measures does ICBC have?
I will give the floor to Mr. Zhang Weiwu from Beijing.
Thank you for your attention paid to ICBC. In 2024, ICBC served China's high-level opening up, maintaining an overall trend of high-quality developments in internationalized operation. I will talk about four points. First, global operations or progress that meet stability. Currently, ICBC's service network covers 149 countries and regions globally. By shareholding in Standard Bank Group from South Africa, we covered indirectly 20 African countries, serving as RMB acquiring banks in 11 countries and established 254 institutions in 31 countries that participate in the Belt and Road Initiatives. At the end of 2024, overseas institutions maintained stable.
Pre-tax profit exceeded $3.9 billion, up 21.6%. The total asset of overseas institutions exceeded $430 billion, up by 4% year on year. Ongoing efforts were made to serve foreign trade and foreign investment. To fulfill our turnaround action service commitments, we issued CNY 4.8 trillion of financing. We continue to enhance service capacity for going global Chinese founded enterprises and supported key overseas projects. Last year, we were named as the best domestic bank for Belt and Road by Global Finance for its fourth consecutive times and were named the Smart Yet Smart Best Practices in International Energy Cooperation for the first time. We established a list of major multinational corporate customers and key foreign-founded projects and created a full-caliber product system through deepening domestic and overseas integration to accurately match customer needs.
We accelerated to build the ICBC Global Pay system, released the Global Pay Africa service solution, and covered 28 countries and regions of 556 currencies. We continue to promote the single-window financial services for customers' clearance and boosted trade facilitation, handling over $6.4 billion for cross-border remittance in 2024. Third, we advanced the internationalization of RMB in a steady, prudent, and solid way. We continue to trend shoe action, providing cross-border RMB financing of more than CNY 1.45 trillion to global market entities. The annual cross-border RMB business volume of group reached CNY 9.8 trillion. The business volume of RMB clearing banks exceeded CNY 155 trillion, up 48% year- on- year. We acted in accordance with the guidance of State Council in facilitating foreign trade and domestic trade.
We took the lead in establishing the free trade account, separate accounting unit headquarters in Shanghai, actively supports innovative development of cross-border RMB business in key areas such as Shanghai International Financial Center, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Hainan Free Trade Port, with a total of nearly 12,000 customers served. We served over 700 overseas institutional investors from more than 60 countries and regions globally participating in the China interbank bond market, with a market coverage of over 60%. In 2024, we underwrote 39 Panda bonds with a total issuance size of CNY 101.5 billion, an increase of 66%, and taking the market share of 55%. Force international cooperation was enhanced continuously.
We fulfilled the responsibility of Chinese chair of BRICS Business Council Chinese chapter and actively promoted the mechanisms that we initiated to establish, such as BRBR, Belt and Road Bankers Roundtable, and China-Europe Business Council CBC. BRBR mechanism now covers 183 members and observers in 75 countries and regions, and CBC has covered 17 European countries, and total members are around 100, including 4,500 enterprises. As strategic or comprehensive partner of CIE service trade, we actively serve important international exhibitions and build a financial bridge to promote cooperation. The second aspect is about ICBC financial service for new forms of foreign trade. This year, we launched Turnaround Action 2025, introducing a service system for new forms of foreign trade and aim to support new forms of foreign trade through financial innovation. I will talk about three points. First, a cross-border financial service system with a wider customer base.
We have built a comprehensive online service system for cross-border e-commerce tailored to payment institutions, cross-border e-commerce platforms, independent websites, and other service providers. We provide foreign exchange settlement for 45 currencies and coverage risk management for over 100 currencies. Help the customer to meet their demand to be directly exchanged to RMB and helping them to reduce exchange loss and transaction costs. Since its inception, the cross-border e-commerce payment settlement has reached nearly CNY 1 trillion, and we have served over 100,000 small and micro-sized e-commerce enterprises. Second, we have developed a comprehensive innovative product system.
Adapting to the new forms of characterized by the small amount, high frequency, and massive volume, we rely on ICBC's advantage of a comprehensive global network, advanced technology system, and group-wide integration to build an ICBC e-commerce foreign trade service system that integrates account management, payment, settlement, financing, guarantee, cash management, exchange rate hedging, and consulting. Third is to consolidate the security foundation for global settlement. We adhere to the standard of independent, controllable, secure, and efficient. We built an e-commerce payment settlement system and pioneered a service model of internal and external intervention, direct connection in the industry. Based on big data and artificial intelligence, we have built an intelligent risk control system for cross-border e-commerce, providing enterprises with full process compliance solutions before, during, and after the event so as to ensure transaction compliance. This is my answer. Thank you.
Next, back to Beijing. Row number four, gentlemen, please.
Thank you. I'm with Goldman Securities . Thank you for the opportunity. I have a question for capital and dividend distribution. One year after the rolling out of the new capital regulations, I want to know about if there are any changes to the distribution dividends policies.
I will invite Mr. Duan to answer your question.
Thank you. Thank you for the question. From Beijing, capital is a lifeline for commercial banks' continuous operation and the foundation for serving the real economy and preventing various risks. ICBC has attached great importance to capital management. We also value the improving of efficiency of capital to make capital in a reasonable range and at a better range compared to international peers.
Last year, at the end of last year, the tier one capital adequacy ratio and the capital adequacy ratio has reached 15.36% and 19.39%, respectively, up by 19 basis points and 29 basis points from the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, considering factors such as enhancing support for real economy and the rise in a group of globally domestically important banks, we also try to balance the indulgence replacement and exogenous replacement to create returns for our investors, shareholders, and also to accumulate more indulgence capital for ourselves to develop. We will make a balance between demand and supply. In terms of indulgence replacement, we treat profit accumulation as a primary source of capital injection. We maintain a reasonable profitability and enhance the long-term sustainability of capital sources. In 2024, the bank replenished capital by more than CNY 190 billion through profit retention.
For exogenous replenishment, we continue to enrich and improve capital replenishment channels, coordinate the assurance of various capital instruments, optimize the capital structure, and choose favorable opportunities to control capital cost. In 2024, ICBC's net redemption of capital instruments amounted to CNY 30 billion. The average interest payment rate of capital instruments decreased by 40 basis points through rational replacement of existing instruments. In terms of balance, we honestly implement the new capital regulations and achieve real-time calibration of risk parameters through upgrading measurement models, statistical system, and data identification, thereby releasing capital space. We constantly optimize asset allocation and use tools like EVA. At the same time, we continue to enhance capital utilization efficiency, strengthen capital constraints, and increase value creation in the future to create a clean and healthy balance sheet and balanced, coordinated, and sustainable income statements.
In terms of the policy of dividend distribution, I want to say that ICBC is forever committed to service shareholders. Since we went public in 2006, we continue to create cash dividends over CNY 1.5 trillion. In the recent years, the distribution ratio maintained more than 30%. We are the number one listed company of Asia that gives the most dividends to its shareholders. In 2024, we also rolled out for the first time the midterm dividend distribution. We will have twice dividends distributions in a year. That is the very first in the listed companies. For three consecutive years, the dividends per share exceed CNY 0.3. Last year, calculated by average share price, the H share and H shares returns on dividends achieved CNY 5.32 and CNY 7.32, respectively. We have relatively high returns.
In the future, we'll continue to create more values and be more competitive in our markets and balancing the market position, risk control, and capital constraints and strive to create long-term and sustainable value returns for shareholders and a consistent policy for dividend distribution. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Duan. Back to Beijing. Row number four, please.
I'm with the Xinhua News Agency. I noticed that President Liu Jun published an article talking about no evolution and no price battles. It also caused a lot of attention online, and there was heated discussion around it. People were encouraged because now we are under great pressure of the low NIM. How does ICBC foresee the performance of the NIM in this year? When is the turning point expected? The listed rate of deposit on liability side is already very low.
Is it expected that the LPR will continue to decrease?
I will ask SEVP Mr. Yao to answer your question because I will embarrass myself to answer your question by myself.
Thank you. Thank you for your support and for your care. About the LPR and NIM, I will give you an estimation. I believe the NIM will go down, and it will remain common in the industry, but the decline is expected to narrow compared to last year. First, from the perspective of macro policies, there is still considerable downward pressure on asset side yield levels. There were three LPR cuts in last year, and the existing housing loans is also adjusted, and the impact of that will manifest this year. In this year, we will have more proactive monetary policies and fiscal policies, so they will raise higher requirements for the NIM.
Second, from the perspective of banking operations, the effects of continuous cost control on the liability side are gradually becoming apparent. In recent years, we are trying to implement a self-discipline initiative, a catch-all clause for rate adjustment, and continue to improve the sustainability of the banking industry services to the real economy. In the second half of last year, the narrowing of NIM has already improved. Last year, we proactively strengthened the adjustment of asset liability layout and their low interest rate, optimized the allocation of major assets. That is something that we want to talk about, the no more price battles. As you have very keenly noticed, the year-end NIM was 1.42%, down by 19 basis points from the end of the previous year and 1 basis point from the mid-year. This is quite remarkable results among peers.
We believe the decline is narrowing and the situation is turning up. For this year, ICBC has already certainly on serving national strategies and meeting people's needs, balancing the operation and profitability, actively playing the lead role of a large bank in serving the real economy. For this year, we will continue to align the macro policies, improve the supporting systems, highlight industrial and commercial main responsibilities and main business so as to keep NIM at a reasonable level. First, we will continue to optimize allocation of major assets, continue to support the ultra long-term special treasury bonds, local government special bonds, and also promoting the adjustments of duration structure of assets. Second, make reasonable arrangements for credit placement to meet the real economy's demands and to delve into the development of five priorities, support the personal mortgage, consumer loans, and credit card overdrafts will be enhanced.
Third, continue to enhance the cost management of asset liabilities, improve the pricing levels of loan risks, and implement comprehensive liability cost management, avoid evolution, and proactively optimize maturity and variety structure to achieve a win-win situation. Regarding the LPR trend, our basic judgment is that LPR will continue to decline in 2025. The LPR is strongly determined by market supply and demand, quotations of commercial banks, and monetary policies of central bank. The changes in LPR are necessary to balance three objectives: financing costs of the real economy, profitabilities of banks, macro risk prevention control. In recent years, the transmission mechanism of deposit and loan interest rate has become smoother. The policy rate cut drives LPR adjustments, reducing social financing costs. Commercial banks will also timely adjust deposit listing risk, lower liability costs, stabilize interest margin, and enhance the sustainability of serving the real economy.
To balance the relationship between stability, growth, and risk prevention. I wonder if my answer, if I answer your questions.
One more question from Beijing.
Good afternoon. Shanghai Security News. In 2024, ICBC total investment and financing volume continued to lead the market. Could you specify which views does it go? How has the support for the good start of the real economy been this year? Also, recently, domestic new technology achievements represented by DeepSeek have received high public attention. What measures does ICBC have in supporting private enterprises, developing technology, finance, and fostering new quality, high productive forces? Last, from ICBC's DICBC construction, what are the new breakthroughs in AI large model application and achievements and transformation? Shanghai Security News has put forward four questions in one. I will invite Mr. Zhang Shouchuan, who is in charge of these four areas.
Thank you for your question.
Thank you for, in 2024, ICBC implemented the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and State Council, coordinated the implementation of existing policies to stabilize the economy and the package of incremental policies, served the real economy, and promoted steady volume growth and a balanced pace of investment and financing. At the end of 2024, ICBC's domestic full-caliber investment and financing increased by CNY 4.2 trillion, with loans of domestic branches increased by CNY 2.3 trillion. In terms of the five priorities, in terms of the technology finance, we continue to lead peers. The balance of loans to strategic emerging industry and technology-based enterprise ranked first. Green loans exceeded CNY 6 trillion. Also, we have issued the domestic and overseas ESG and green bonds.
In terms of inclusive finance, we continue to promote a coordination mechanism supporting the finance of SMEs, and the growth of inclusive loans is significantly higher than the group average. Also, together with several stakeholders, the agricultural loans increased by nearly CNY 800 billion. Also, we have maintained high-speed growth in several key areas like digital finance. Second, we highlight the main responsibilities and main business, strengthened price-size investment. We enhance financial services in fields such as major national strategies and the construction of security capacity in key areas, equipment, new renewal, and trading for old customer goods and other major projects. The medium and long-term corporate loans increased by CNY 1.2 trillion, and the balance of loans to manufacturing sector exceeded CNY 4.4 trillion. The medium and the growth are both leading the market.
We also support the high-end intelligent and green development of manufacturing, both a number of amount of wide lease projects of real estate financing lead peers. Third, we enhanced the momentum to promote the transformation of the credit structure. We vigorously promoted the transformation of personal loan structure. As a result, personal loans increased by CNY 300 billion from the beginning of the year, and the growth rate of personal consumption loan exceeded 28%. Since the beginning of this year, ICBC deployment implemented the instruction of the third plenary session of the 20th Central CPC Committee and the Central Economic Work Conference. In the first two months, we continuously intensified support, and we issued over CNY 840 billion new loans, a year-on-year increase.
In the next stage, we will continue to implement the central spirit and take the status quo of ICBC into consideration, maintain a progressive and stable pace of loan granting and the bound investment so as to enhance our adaptability, competitiveness, and inclusiveness of our financial services. To the point of support of private enterprises, we implemented the CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping's instruction. We unswervingly support the private enterprises, mainly reflected in three areas. First, financing support more powerful. As the end of 2024, the total financing amount of ICBC for the nonpublic economy exceeded CNY 7.5 trillion, annual growth of over CNY 1 trillion, and the interest rate was lower 0.14%. The growth rate of unsecured loans for private enterprises was nearly 27%, significantly higher than the average growth of all kinds of loans. 98% of companies with loan accounts were private companies.
We plan to provide no less than CNY 6 trillion loan in financing and investment for private enterprises in the next three years. Second, innovative services are more diversified. In 2024, we underwrote bonds of over CNY 60 billion for private enterprises and invested over CNY 20 billion in private enterprises through direct equity investment and debt-to-equity swaps. 80% of them are private enterprises. We have done a matchmaking platform, inviting private enterprises to join this mechanism and get the intent of cooperation of more than 200,000. Third, service security is more comprehensive. On March 12, ICBC and the All China Federation of Industry and Commerce jointly held the promotion conference of assist enterprises with finance, improve the quality towards innovation to empower the high-quality development of private enterprises, proposing a goal of providing CNY 6 trillion loans financing over three years.
Next is about support for the technology finance and new quality productive force. We followed the guidance of CPTC General Secretary, focusing more financial resources into new quality productive force. There are also three aspects. First, resource supply was further increased. We focus on areas such as the loans, debts, and other kinds of projects. The balance of loans to strategic emerging industries at the end of 2024 exceeded CNY 3.1 trillion. We vigorously promoted the AIC equity investment pilot and balance of equity investment in the primary market for technology enterprises exceeded CNY 70 billion. Second, the service mechanism was further upgraded. The head office established a technology finance committee to strengthen the overall planning and coordination of technology finance. In 2024, 22 regional technology finance centers were set up nationwide.
To help the technology SMEs and SRDI enterprises, we deeply carried out the Chunmiao and Qiushi special actions to enhance full life cycle services for customers. Third, service innovation was accelerated. We coordinated the full life cycle and financial service system consisting of equity loans, bonds, and issuance, focusing on early-stage investment, small investment, long-term investment, and investment in hard technology. We have innovated three types of special financing scenarios like found credit loan, found investment loan, and technology stock loan. Over 200 projects were launched in half a year, covering key industries such as integrated circuits. We also vigorously enhanced digitalization intelligence by continuously iterating the inclusive rating credit model for technology-based enterprises to give a full life cycle monetary system and promoting automatic access for technology-based enterprises. Next step, we will step up our effort to cultivate new quality productive force.
The last question is about progress in DICBC. ICBC is assisting taking technology innovation as an important support to promote the high-quality development of itself. We initiated the Artificial Intelligence Plus initiative. Mr. Liu also mentioned this point. Our auto robot has replaced more than 42,000 employees. Also, among our peers, ICBC is the first to complete the local deployment of the largest open-source large model DeepSeek and integrate into our own ICBC ChatGPT system called Gongying Zhiyu. Also, in this point, I would like to make three points. First, we have built an enterprise-level financial large model technology. Algorithm, computation power, and data are the core technology elements, and we are the first to take the lead in large models in this regard.
In terms of the algorithm, we have established a financial large model algorithm matrix with multi-layered architecture and deployed a collaborative application of metrics over 10 large models and more than 2,000 traditional models. In terms of the computational power, we have built the first autonomous controllable and high-capacity AI computation power cloud among peers. Also, in terms of data, we have established a general industry enterprise field task, five years knowledge architecture, and leveraged the advantage of rich financial data accumulation to innovatively create an intelligent full life cycle pipeline for collection, cleansing, and management. We have already deployed an AI solution in the financial industry level. From the perspective of the financial industry, we draw lessons from our business experience. We took the initial intelligent hub as a foundation to flexibly assemble the core capabilities such as knowledge retrieval, data analysis, document drafting, and intelligent search.
We support many use cases to be put into use, and also, we share this platform with domestic peers. Next, ICBC will further enhance the core technological capacities of Gongying Zhiyu to promote the quality development, coverage expansion, and volume increase of AI applications, empowering the bank's overall business quality and efficiency improvement. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Zhang. Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the press, analysts, due to the time limit, now our Q&A session will come to an end. Thanks for the professional answers from our senior executives, and thank you all for your participation. In the next step, we will organize other IR activities and exchanges, welcome you to continue to participate and pay attention to. Should you have any further inquiry, please feel free to contact our IR and PR team, which can maintain close relation with you as always.
We hope that you continue to support ICBC, and we will do our job better so as to serve the high-quality development of the society and provide long-term and sustainable return for our shareholders. Now, the 2024 annual results announcement of ICBC has concluded. Happy weekend.