China bad debt manager restructures as joint-stock firm

China Great Wall Asset Management Co officially launched as a restructured joint-stock firm on Sunday, with an eye towards a market listing and a bigger role in tackling China’s mounting bad debt. Great Wall is one of the country’s Big Four state-owned bad debt managers set up in 1999 to purchase non-performing loans from the country’s four biggest state-owned banks. It has handled about 1.7 trillion yuan ($246.23 billion) in bad debt so far. The transition to a shareholding company means Great Wall can now sell stakes to new shareholders and list itself on a stock market. According to Reuters, the move means it could list itself on a domestic or offshore stock market as early as the first half of next year, which would expand its capital base and capacity to tackle debt issues.