Huaxin Trust, which had nearly 24 billion yuan ($3.52 billion) of assets under management at the end of 2007, hired Everbright Securities, one of China's 10 biggest brokerages, several months ago when its board agreed to a listing, said Guo Yan, its board secretary.

Guo declined to comment further on the IPO plan but another Huaxin executive, who is not authorized to speak to the media and declined to be identified, told Reuters that the firm aimed to list on one of the country's two main-board markets in 2009.

"Usually, it takes half a year to a year for an IPO-ready firm to prepare its IPO documents and audited financial reports, so it will be great if we can list next year," the executive said, adding that the timeframe would be also subject to regulatory approvals.

The executive added that the listing aimed to raise several hundred million yuan.

Huaxin currently has registered capital of 1.21 billion yuan, according to its company website. Other trust houses, including Bridge Trust Co Ltd and North International Trust and Investment Co Ltd, are seeking listings either via initial public offerings of shares or back-door listing plans, according to Chinese media reports.

Huaxin's major shareholders include Dalian Daxian Enterprises Holdings Co Ltd, which owns a roughly 10 percent stake.

There are currently only two domestically listed firms among about 60 trust companies in China: Shanghai-listed Anxin Trust and Shenzhen-listed Shaanxi International Trust and Investment Corp.

Huaxin, one of the country's oldest trust firms established in 1981, was once a subsidiary of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest lender. In 1997, the company had an internal restructuring and was renamed Huaxin. ICBC is no longer a shareholder of Huaxin, said Guo.

The government has been moving since 2006 to bolster China's trust companies, which were hit over the past decade by a series of bankruptcies and scandals.

Under Chinese rules, trust companies are allowed to offer a variety of corporate banking services, including asset management and indirect fund-raising for domestic enterprises, and the regulator is also encouraging them to team up with private equity houses to raise funds to invest in local industries.