Sinopec to undersell 10 financial assets

Sinopec Finance Co., Ltd., the financial platform of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) put out an underselling notice to find new hosts for its 10 financial assets at a total price of 186.6 million yuan ($27.33 million) on the China Beijing Equity Exchange Monday.

The 10 financial assets that the Sinopec wants to sell are all assets where the company holds less than 5 percent of the shares.

The assets include seven local banks, including Hankou Bank, Dongying City Commercial Bank, Shijiazhuang City Commercial Bank, Huishang Bank, Huzhou City Commercial Bank, the Bank of Lanzhou, Urumqi City Commercial Bank, and an insurance company named Hengtai Insurance Brokers Co., Ltd., a trust company and an assets management company.

Among the 10 assets, the seven banks are sold together in a package, and cannot be sold separately. The shares for the seven banks are about 2 yuan per share on average, among which the highest price is 2.3 yuan per share and the lowest price is 1.2 yuan per share.

Analysts pointed out that the price is especially attractive to potential investors.

In response to rumors that Sinopec wants to sell the assets to reduce its money supply, a Sinopec spokesman said this is a business strategy move.

He explained the 10 assets for sale are those where the company just holds a few shares, do not have good profitability and are not closely related to the company's strategic business development. The transfer is a measure that Sinopec Finance Co., Ltd. is making to integrate financial assets to better service the core business of Sinopec.

Sinopec holds 51 percent of the shares of the Sinopec Finance Co., Ltd.