The mainland lender will offload stakes in troubled firms amid efforts to cut non-performing loans ahead of listing
China Construction Bank (CCB) intends to sell 50 billion yuan worth of shares in troubled companies as it ramps up non-performing asset disposal, senior bank executives say.
The decision to sell such equity, which CCB acquired in exchange for writing off non-performing loans, represents a new phase in the bank's effort to clean up its books and follows earlier sales of bad debts and the collateral that once backed them.
'We will focus on debt-for-equity swaps,' said Yang Xiaoyang, general manager of CCB's special assets resolution department.
He said the bank had formed a task force that would study how best to sell its equity stakes.
CCB has set a goal of reducing its bad loans by a further three percentage points this year. According to Mr Yang, the bank lowered its bad loans to 9.25 per cent of total lending last year from 15.9 per cent in 2002.
