By He Shan
China.org.cn staff reporter

Orient Asset Management Company has asked the government to approve its conversion into a financial services company, said President Mei Xingbao in an interview on the sidelines of the annual session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

One of China's four asset management companies which manage nonperforming loans transferred from China's four main banks, the company has already spun off some of its non-commercial business.

It wants to bring in a credible and influential agency to audit and assess its assets and liabilities, in order to lay the groundwork for a partnership with a strategic investor, according to Mei.

The president said the company has the makings of a financial services company, since it has gained considerable experience by dealing with non-performing loans, and is engaged in a number of diverse businesses including securities, leasing and credit rating.

In 1999, China set up Huarong Asset Management, Cinda Asset Management, Great Wall Asset Management and Orient Asset Management to clean up the balance sheets of China’s four biggest banks in a major reform of the financial sector.

The companies resemble the Resolution Trust Corporation that the United States used in the late 1980s to dispose of bad loans after the collapse of much of the American savings and loan industry.

(China.org.cn March 12, 2009)