China's four asset management companies (AMCs) have either
written off or recovered 839.75 billion yuan (US$104.9 billion) in
non-performing assets from banks by the end of 2005, the Chinese
banking regulator reports.
The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said in the
latest report that only 176.6 billion yuan (US$22 billion), just
over one-fifth of the total, was recovered in cash.
The AMCs - Huarong, Cinda, Orient and Great Wall - were set up
in 1999 to manage a mountain of problem assets transferred from
China's Big Four state banks.
Chinese banks acquired huge debts after reckless lending to
state-owned enterprises in past decades, analysts said.
After lessening their financial burdens, the banks are speeding
up corporate governance-oriented reform.
(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2006)