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Legend to invest 10b yuan over five years

By Wang Xing (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-09 08:11

China's Legend Holdings said yesterday that it plans to invest 10 billion yuan over the next five year in industries such as clean energy and environmental protection, as part of its effort to transform itself into a corporate investment-holding company.

The parent of the Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group said it plans to build its core assets in five sectors - clean energy and environmental protection, new materials, hitech, financial services and consumer goods.

The company also intends to become a well-respected international corporate investment-holding company, said Liu Chuanzhi, chairman of Legend Holdings.

Related readings:  Liu Chuanzhi picked as Legend Holdings' chairman  China Oceanwide buys 29% stake in Lenovo parent Legend   Mainland listing of shares soon, says Lenovo CFO  Lenovo's mainland sales up

The investment plan comes close on the heels of private investment firm China Oceanwide's decision to buy a 29 percent stake in Legend Holdings for 2.76 billion yuan.

This was first time that the Chinese State-owned technology firm was selling stake to a private investment group in the past two decades.

Liu Chuanzhi, who is also chairman of Lenovo Group, said Legend's shareholding structure would continue to change as it expands into multiple industries.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences will still retain a 36 percent stake in Legend after the transaction with China Oceanwide. But the company said yesterday that the State academy plans to reduce its stake in Legend gradually to under 35 percent by 2010, falling below the stake belonging to a Legend employee group, which currently owns 35 percent in the group.

Liu said Legend also hopes to be eventually listed on a stock market, which could dilute the academy's holdings in Legend.

The moves are Liu's latest efforts to introduce modern corporate governance in the country's flagship technology firm.

According to Liu, Legend needs to diversify its share holding to stay competitive in the marketplace.

Legend was set up in 1984 by 11 scientific researchers with an investment of 200,000 yuan.

The company now has three key businesses, including IT, investment and property development. It runs five subsidiaries, including Lenovo Group, Digital China, Legend Capital, Rongke Property and Hony Capital. The company's total business volume last year was 115.2 billion yuan.

Legend also announced on Monday that it would join a group of investors in a new $115 million angel investment fund launched by Kai-Fu Lee, Google's former China head.