BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The following are highlights of China's key local business news from the past week.

　　-- Country Garden sees profit, revenue rise in 2018

　　China's leading property developer Country Garden Monday said its core profit stood at 34.13 billion yuan (5.1 billion U.S. dollars) last year, an annual increase of 38.2 percent.

　　The Guangdong-based company said its revenue surged 67.1 percent year-on-year to 379.08 billion yuan, with contract sales rising 31.25 percent to 501.88 billion yuan in 2018.

　　-- Xiaomi revenue up 52.6 percent in 2018

　　Xiaomi said Tuesday that its 2018 revenue reached 174.9 billion yuan (26 billion U.S. dollars), marking a 52.6-percent increase as the Chinese tech firm achieved robust smartphone sales and successful expansion in the home appliance market.

　　The Beijing-headquartered company said its international revenue grew 118.1 percent to 70 billion yuan and its net profit reached 13.48 billion yuan. Xiaomi shipped 118.7 million smartphones last year, up 29.8 percent year-on-year.

　　-- TCL net profit up 30 pct in 2018

　　China's leading home appliance manufacturer TCL Corp. posted a 30.2 percent year-on-year rise in net profit for 2018.

　　In its annual financial results filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange late Tuesday, TCL said the net profit attributable to its shareholders reached 3.47 billion yuan (517 million U.S. dollars) last year, while its revenue rose 1.6 percent year-on-year to 113.36 billion yuan.

　　-- Tencent net profit exceeds 77 billion yuan in 2018

　　Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent announced Thursday that it registered a net profit of about 77.47 billion yuan (11.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018.

　　Its revenue totaled 312.69 billion yuan last year, up 32 percent year-on-year.

　　-- Bank of Beijing to set up JV with ING Bank

　　Bank of Beijing, a commercial bank in the Chinese capital, said it plans to join hands with ING Bank N.V. to invest 3 billion yuan (447 million U.S. dollars) in setting up a banking joint venture.

　　In a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange late Thursday, Bank of Beijing said it would own a 49 percent stake while ING Bank would hold 51 percent.