Distressed asset manager Huarong's IPO leans heavily on cornerstone investors

China Huarong Asset Management, the country’s largest manager of distressed debt, has so far pulled in US$1.62 billion in an initial public offering that relies heavily on cornerstone investors, whose 67.7% allocation suggests unease in Hong Kong’s broader investment community, The Financial Times reported. With so many of the 5.8 billion shares on offer already locked up – potentially for as long as six months – only a small slice will be more widely offered through the Hong Kong listing of the firm–one of four asset managers set up in the 1990s to take on bad loans from China’s largest banks.