CITIC Securities Co yesterday said it has raised 5.14 billion yuan (US$803.7 million) by selling a 31 percent stake in China Asset Management Co to three companies.

Citic, the biggest securities firm by market value on the Chinese mainland, earned 1.76 billion yuan from selling 11 percent to China South Industry Assets Management Co, the brokerage said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It sold a 10 percent stake to Shandong Rural Economic Development Investment Corp for 1.6 billion yuan. The remaining 10 percent was sold to Power Corp of Canada for 1.78 billion yuan.

The brokerage said in May that it planned to raise more than 7.56 billion yuan by selling 51 percent of its wholly owned China Asset Management.

The stake sale had been planned to be divided into five transactions. One of the transactions was the 11 percent stake sold for 1.76 billion yuan, and the remaining transactions will be 10 percent stakes to be sold for 1.6 billion yuan each, it said previously.

The buyers of the other two 10 percent stakes have not been finalized.

Citic's stake sales of China Asset Management, one of the mainland's top mutual fund companies, is in order to comply with a China Securities Regulatory Commission regulation set three years ago that no financial institution is allowed to have stakes in more than two fund companies. Companies are permitted to be a controlling stakeholder in one fund firm with a stake of no more than 49 percent in the other.

Source:shanghaidaily