China Huarong transformed into joint-stock company

BEIJING - China Huarong Asset Management Corporation, one of China's four asset management companies set up to deal with toxic assets of State-owned banks, became a joint-stock company on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Finance said in a statement that a conference for establishing China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd was held Tuesday.

The new company has a registered capital of 25.8 billion yuan ($4.07 billion), with 98.06 of shares held by the MOF and the remaining 1.94 percent by China Life Insurance Company, the statement said.

"After the establishment, the company will put its focus into commercial banking, trust, leasing and other banking businesses while continuing to do a good job in asset management," the statement said.

In 1999, China set up four asset management companies, including Cinda, Huarong, Great Wall and Orient to deal with toxic assets of the country's four biggest state-owned banks in a bid to help them transform quickly into market-oriented institutions.

The four companies finished the task of dealing with the toxic assets in 2007 and started a pilot program of restructuring firms into joint-stock companies in 2010.

Huarong is the second asset management company transformed into a joint-stock company, following China Cinda's restructuring in June 2010.