Great Wall Asset Receives Approval to Increase CCB Stake by Up to 1.99% in August 2026

Great Wall Asset Management has recently received regulatory approval to increase its stake in China Construction Bank (CCB). This is the first case in 2026 where an asset management company (AMC) has been approved to increase its holdings in a listed bank. As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, Great Wall Asset held approximately 7.865 billion H-shares of CCB, representing a 3.01% stake. If it raises its stake to the maximum allowed, its shareholding in CCB would surpass that of the Ministry of Finance, making it the second-largest state-owned corporate shareholder after Central Huijin.

Under the Interim Measures for the Equity Management of Commercial Banks issued in 2018, a shareholder that holds or controls more than 5% of the shares or voting rights of a commercial bank is considered a major shareholder. Even with a stake below 5%, if the shareholder has significant influence over the bank's operation and management, it is also classified as a major shareholder. Once designated as a major shareholder, the entity faces the 'two-participation and one-control' restriction and stricter regulatory requirements.

Since 2023, four major AMCs—CITIC Financial Asset (formerly China Huarong), China Cinda, Orient Asset, and Great Wall Asset—have stepped up their equity positions in listed banks, focusing mainly on national banks such as large state-owned banks and joint-stock banks. In 2023, CITIC Financial Asset increased its holdings of Everbright convertible bonds and completed a premium conversion before the final conversion date of the Everbright convertible bonds. By the end of 2025, its stake in China Everbright Bank had risen to 9.02%, making it the second-largest shareholder. In 2025, China Cinda and Orient Asset became top-ten shareholders of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank through methods such as increasing convertible bond holdings and conversion or secondary market purchases. Since 2024, CITIC Financial Asset has increased its stake in Bank of China, reaching 4.93% by the end of 2025. Great Wall Asset increased its holdings in China Minsheng Bank during the adjustment of its shareholder structure, and by end-2025 held 3.876% of A-shares and 1.119% of H-shares, ranking among the top ten shareholders of that bank.

The four AMCs were established in 1999 to address the Asian financial crisis, mitigate financial risks, promote state-owned bank reform, and help state-owned enterprises overcome difficulties, specializing in non-performing asset businesses. Orient Asset was designated to receive non-performing assets from Bank of China, China Cinda from China Construction Bank and China Development Bank, China Huarong from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Great Wall Asset from Agricultural Bank of China. In recent years, the industry has accelerated rectification under regulatory requirements to return to its core non-performing asset business. China Huarong changed its major shareholder to CITIC Group through strategic investment and was renamed CITIC Financial Asset. The other three were incorporated into China Investment Corporation (CIC) in February 2025, with all equity held by the Ministry of Finance transferred to Central Huijin. Previously, AMC-held stakes in Huarong Xiangjiang Bank and Great Wall West China Bank have been divested.