The first joint venture asset management company in China, the Rongde Asset Management Company, was officially unveiled in Beijing yesterday. The company was jointly established by the China Huarong Asset Management Corporation, the Deutsche Bank, the Cathay Capital Company (No.2) Limited, a joint venture between Deutsche Bank AG (DB) and American International Group Inc. (AIG), and the International Finance Corporation.

China currently has four state-owned asset management companies, China Huarong Asset Management Corporation, Great Wall Asset Management Corporation, Cinda Asset Management Company and China Orient Asset Management Company. Before Rongde Asset Management Company was established, the four national asset management companies had cooperated with foreign investors for a specific project. However, Rongde Asset Management Company is the first independent company with a commercial operation. From now on, Rongde Asset Management Company will compete with the other four national asset management companies in their business to handle bad assets.

General Manager of the Huarong Asset Management Company Ding Zhongchi said the founding of the joint venture company was a new mode taken by domestic asset management companies in handling assets. It was also an innovative measure taken by international investors in their way to handle bad assets in China. Business scope of the Rongde Asset Management Company includes the purchase, management and handling of bad assets, asset restructuring and taking-over, managing and disposing of non-performing assets, increasing investment, and other approved business services.

Early in September 2005, Huarong Asset Management Corporation initiated the joint venture program. It chose its strategic international investment partners through bidding. DB and AIG are two large, well-known investing banks in the world. The International Finance Corporation is an investment arm of the World Bank.

On June 6, 2006, Rongde Asset Management Company obtained its business license issued by the General Administration of Industry and Commerce.
 
Editor: Yan