Trust equity transfers face a cooling trend, with some small and medium shareholders accelerating their exit

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(Source: Economic Information Daily)

Minority shareholders of trust companies are accelerating their “clearing out” exits. Recently, information from the Beijing Equity Exchange showed that 0.826% equity in China Tiedong Trust Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “China Tiedong Trust”) was publicly listed for transfer, with a transfer floor price of RMB 90.5016 million. The transferor is Pangang Group Chengdu Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. The listing dates for this transfer are from December 29, 2025 to April 3, 2026.

This is not the first time this portion of equity has been publicly listed for transfer. On November 23, 2025, according to information from the National Property Rights Industry Informationized Integrated Service Platform, the 0.826% equity in China Tiedong Trust had previously been listed for transfer, with a transfer floor price of RMB 100.55724 million. The transferor was also Pangang Group Chengdu Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., and the information disclosure end date was December 19, 2025. Compared with the listing at the end of last year, the current transfer price is equivalent to a 90% discount.

Public information shows that Pangang Group Chengdu Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. was established on May 22, 2002. The legal representative is Zhang Hu. Its registered capital is RMB 1.61 billion. Its business scope includes the sale of metal products, the sale of non-metal minerals and products, and repair of metal products. The company is held by Pangang Group Chengdu Chengsteel Co., Ltd. at 82.23% and by Chengdu Industrial Investment Group Co., Ltd. at 16.77%.

Yu Yong Trust researcher Shu Guoren said that the intention of minority shareholders in trust companies to exit may have three reasons. First, minority shareholders themselves are adjusting strategy; they need to optimize capital allocation and focus on their core business. Second, the trust industry is in a period of deep transformation; many trust companies’ operating performance has declined significantly, which does not meet the company’s strategic investment requirements. Third, in the specific day-to-day matters of trust companies, some minority shareholders have relatively weaker decision-making power and cannot participate more deeply in operations.

According to information on the China Tiedong Trust website, the company was established in December 2002. It is a non-bank financial institution whose main business is financial trust, approved by the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. Its registered capital is RMB 5 billion, and its total assets under comprehensive management exceed RMB 600 billion. Currently, the company has 16 shareholders. Its equity structure is diversified, with a combination of central state-owned enterprise shareholding, local state-owned enterprise shareholding, and private enterprise participation. Among them, China Railway Group Limited is the company’s largest shareholder, holding 78.91%. Pangang Group Chengdu Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. is the 10th largest shareholder of China Tiedong Trust, holding 0.826%.

“That is to say, Pangang Group Chengdu Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. is clearing out all the equity interest it holds in China Tiedong Trust this time.” A market observer said.

In fact, besides China Tiedong Trust, recently, shares of multiple trust companies have also been listed for transfer “at a discount.” The reporter, after checking data from the Beijing and Shanghai property rights exchanges, found that previously, equity interests of several trust companies, including New Era Trust, China Credit Trust, West Trust, and China Haizhong Trust, had all been seeking buyers. However, the market interest in equity assets of some trust companies has not been high. In some cases, they have even faced awkward situations such as being listed for transfer multiple times, as well as being delayed and having prices reduced. Among them, the equity interests of New Era Trust and West Trust have both been listed for transfer four times in succession.

“Compared with the craze in previous years, in recent years the equity heat of trust companies has clearly cooled. However, the value of a trust company’s equity ultimately depends on both the value of the license and the company’s operating condition.” An analyst from a trust industry in Beijing said candidly that under strict regulation of the big asset management sector, the value of trust companies’ equity has declined somewhat, but trust companies still retain unique advantages in cross-market operations—especially those whose trust asset operations are stable, whose prior operations have been solid, and whose potential non-performing projects are transparent and controllable. For these trust companies, their equity still has appeal.

“A cooling in the market for transferring trust equity is the norm. In the current market environment, the share prices of many listed financial institutions have already fallen below their net asset value.” Yu Zhi, a researcher at the Yongen Financial Trust Research Institute, said that at present, the trust industry is in a critical period of business transformation. The operations of most trust companies have been affected, resulting in significant performance pressure. Combined with the continuous exposure of risks in existing industry inventory, the overall valuation of trust companies’ equity has declined, which has a major impact on the value of trust company equity held by minority shareholders. In the short term, it may be difficult for this trend to be reversed, and the phenomenon of minority shareholders transferring equity may continue.

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