# Shareholder’s equity

The following table sets forth the Group’s total equity and its composition as at the dates indicated.

(In millions of RMB)	As at 31 December 2018	As at 31 December 2017
Share capital	250,011	250,011
Other equity instruments – preference shares	79,636	79,636
Capital reserve	134,537	135,225
Investment revaluation reserve	N/A	(26,004)
Other comprehensive income	18,451	N/A
Surplus reserve	223,231	198,613
General reserve	279,725	259,680
Retained earnings	990,872	886,921
Exchange reserve	N/A	(4,322)
Total equity attributable to equity shareholders of the Bank	1,976,463	1,779,760
Non-controlling interests	15,131	16,067
Total equity	1,991,594	1,795,827

As at 31 December 2018, the Group’s equity was RMB1,991,594 million, an increase of RMB195,767 million or 10.90% over 2017, primarily driven by the increase of RMB103,951 million in retained earnings. Taking into consideration the adjustments made at the beginning of the period in accordance with requirements of the new financial instruments standard, the actual increase was RMB215,218 million or 12.12%. As the growth rate of total equity surpassed that of assets, the ratio of total equity to total assets for the Group reached 8.58%, an increase of 0.46 percentage points over 2017.

# Off-balance sheet items

The Group’s off-balance sheet items include derivatives, commitments and contingent liabilities. Derivatives include interest rate contracts, exchange rate contracts, precious metal contracts, etc. Please refer to Note “Derivatives and Hedge Accounting” in the financial statements of this annual report for details on the nominal amounts and fair value of derivatives. Commitments and contingent liabilities include credit commitments, operating lease commitments, capital commitments, underwriting obligations, redemption obligations, and outstanding litigation and disputes. Among these, credit commitments were the largest component, including undrawn loan facilities which are approved and contracted, unused credit card limits, financial guarantees, and letters of credit. As at 31 December 2018, credit commitments balance was RMB2,848,724 million, a decrease of RMB180,448 million or 5.96% from 2017. Please refer to Note “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities” in the financial statements in this annual report for details on commitments and contingent liabilities.

# Analysis on Cash Flow Statements

# Cash from operating activities

Net cash received from operating activities was RMB615,831 million, an increase of RMB536,741 million over 2017, mainly because the net growth of loans and advances to customers saw a decrease from 2017, and the deposits with central banks, banks and non-bank financial institutions decreased more over 2017 as affected by reserve ratio cuts.

# Cash used in investing activities

Net cash used in investing activities was RMB369,779 million, an increase of RMB272,323 million over 2017, mainly because of the decrease in cash inflows from investing activities due to less proceeds from sale and redemption of investments.

# Cash from financing activities

Net cash from financing activities was RMB28,921 million, an increase of RMB20,129 million over 2017, mainly driven by the increase of proceeds from the issuance of bonds.