Glonghui, March 29 | Bank of China International released a report saying that CNPC's profit last year increased 8% year-on-year to 161.1 billion yuan, 4% higher than the bank's forecast. Despite a sharp drop in oil prices, the company achieved growth thanks to strong performance in marketing and gas marketing operations. The bank expects CNPC's profit to grow 17% year-on-year this year after excluding impairment, reduced other taxes, and a slight increase in downstream business profits. At the same time, the profit forecast for this year and next year was raised by 14-15%. The bank reaffirmed its “buy” rating for CNPC H shares and raised the target price to HK$7.06.