Shandong International Trust Co., Ltd. provided earnings guidance for the year ended December 31, 2023. For the year, the company expects that the Group will record a net profit of approximately RMB 160 million for the year ended 31 December 2023, representing a decrease of approximately 43% as compared with the corresponding period in 2022. The Board expects that such decrease is mainly attributable to (i) the year-on-year decrease in the Company ' s net fee and commission income in 2023 as a result of the overall restructuring of the trust industry; (ii) the year-on-year increase in the interest income from loans generated from the consolidated structured entities, together with a decrease in the interest expense on the Company ' s borrowings, which resulted in a year-on-year increase in the net interest income of the Company in 2023; (iii) lower investment income in 2023 than in the same period due to the Company's asset dispositions in 2023; and (iv) gains from changes in fair value increased year-on-year as a result of the Company's enhanced proprietary fund operations in 2023.