China transfers ownership of three bad-debt managers to Central Huijin (updated)

China Cinda Asset Management

14/02/2025 12:12

(Recasts, adding detail and context throughout)
       BEIJING, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Three of China's state-owned
bad-debt managers said the finance ministry plans to transfer a
majority stake in the companies to the nation's sovereign wealth
fund as part of moves to overhaul the ownership structure of
state financial firms.
    In March 2023 China announced plans for a sweeping central
government reorganisation, which it said would separate
management of financial institutions from regulatory departments
and state-owned assets, with assets held by regulatory bodies
transferred to designated trusted institutions.
    The three asset management companies (AMCs), China Cinda
Asset Management, China Orient Asset Management and China Great
Wall Asset Management said in separate statements on Friday that
their controlling shareholder, China's finance ministry, plans 
to transfer its shareholdings to Central Huijin Investment.
    Central Huijin, a unit of China Investment Corp, serves as
the government's primary vehicle for maintaining ownership
stakes in state financial firms. At the end of June it held
stakes in 19 financial businesses including state banks,
insurers and brokerages.
    The finance ministry currently holds a 58% stake in China
Cinda, a 71.55% stake in China Orient and owns 73.53% of China
Great Wall. After the transfer, the ministry will no longer hold
shares in the three companies, their statements said. 
    Separately, China Securities Finance, a state company that
provides margin financing services in the market, said that its
shareholders plan to transfer a 66.7% stake in the company to
Central Huijin. Its shareholders include the Shanghai and
Shenzhen stock exchanges and China Securities Depository and
Clearing.
    The stake transfer of the three AMCs was first reported by
state media in January last year. 
    China established four AMCs in 1999 to help to handle bad
loans from its four largest state banks but expanded beyond
their initial remit and themselves began to pose a risk to the
financial system.
    

 (Reporting by Ziyi Tang, Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo
Editing by David Goodman)
 ((Ziyi.Tang@thomsonreuters.com;))