China Great Wall Assets selling to gain

China Great Wall Asset Management Corporation will sell about 20 percent of its equities to five to eight international and Chinese strategic investors in preparation for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2017.

Hu Jianzhong, vice president of the asset management company, told a news conference on Thursday that it is close to the end of a shareholding reform that started on August 31, in an effort to realize comprehensive commercial management and improve the corporate governance structure. The management team is planning to launch a joint-stock company in January.

The new company will begin introducing strategic investors in the second quarter of 2016 and will hopefully complete the work by the end of next year.

"We expect the company to meet the requirements of an IPO in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland in the first half of 2017. Then we'll pick the right time and place for the company to get listed according to the economic situation and capital markets situation in and outside China," Hu said.

As of the end of September, total assets of the company reached 426.7 billion yuan ($66 billion), up 54.8 percent from the beginning of this year. It posted a net profit of 7.59 billion yuan in the first nine months, rising 16 percent year-on-year.

Last year, non-performing asset management contributed 57 percent of the company's operating revenues. Investment banking and asset management contributed 26 percent; comprehensive financial services contributed 17 percent.

Hu said the company will build a comprehensive financial service system. Holding licenses for banking, securities, insurance, trust, and leasing, it is planning to apply for licenses to do business in the fields of mutual funds and futures in the name of its subsidiary Great Wall Glory Securities Co Ltd.

Lai Xiaomin, chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd, another major asset management company, said last week the country's financial risk will become more prominent next year with a possible increase in company default rates. China Huarong will improve its risk management and pricing power, apart from increasing the size of bad assets disposal and reorganization amid the Chinese economic downturn.