Bank of Communications (BoComm)<601328><3328>, the fifth largest bank in China by assets, will buy into China Orient Asset Management Corp (AMC) as a strategic investor, said sources familiar with the matter, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Friday.
However, it remains unclear what size stake BoComm will acquire in China Orient AMC, said the newspaper.
China Orient AMC is one of the four asset management companies established in 1999 by the Chinese government to handle the non-performing loans of the Big Four state-owned banks in China. The other three asset management firms are China Great Wall Asset Management Corp, China Cinda Asset Management Corp and China Huarong Asset Management Corp.
China Orient AMC was mainly responsible for disposing of the non-performing assets of Bank of China (BOC)<601988><3988>. In 2008, the company recovered RMB 14 billion in cash, earning profit of RMB 360 million.
The newspaper also said that Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)<601398><1398>, the world's biggest lender by market value, is waiting for regulatory approval to take a stake in China Huarong AMC.
Guo Shuqing, chairman of China Construction Bank Corp (CCB)<601939><0939> said earlier at an annual general meeting that the lender is likely to buy a 20% to 30% stake in China Cinda Asset Management Corp, the parent of Hong Kong-listed financial firm Cinda International Holdings Ltd<0111>, according to an earlier report from China Knowledge.
