CITIC Group Corporation Ltd., formerly the China International Trust Investment Corporation (CITIC), is a state-owned investment company of the People's Republic of China, established by Rong Yiren in 1979 with the approval of Deng Xiaoping.[2] Its headquarters are in Chaoyang District, Beijing.[3] As of 2019, it is China's biggest state-run conglomerate[4] with one of the largest pools of foreign assets in the world.[5] In 2023, the company was ranked 71st in the Forbes Global 2000.[6]

CITIC Group Corporation Ltd.
Native name
中国中信集团有限公司
Company typeState-owned enterprise
IndustryConglomerate
FoundedJuly 1, 1979; 44 years ago (July 1, 1979)
FounderRong Yiren
Headquarters,
China
Key people
Chang Zhenming (Chairman), Jiong Wang (Vice Chairman, President, Member of Executive Committee and Member of Nomination Committee), Jianzhong Dou (Executive Director and Member of Executive Committee), Wei Min Ju (Chief Financial Officer)
ProductsMetals
Oil & gas
Construction
Food
ServicesFinancial services
Investments
Revenue467,387,430,000 renminbi (2018) Edit this on Wikidata
ParentMinistry of Finance
SubsidiariesCITIC Limited
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese中国中信集团有限公司
Traditional Chinese中國中信集團有限公司
CITIC Group
Simplified Chinese中信集团
Traditional Chinese中信集團
Websitewww.group.citic Edit this at Wikidata
Footnotes / references
in a consolidated basis; equity and profit excluded minority interests; in Chinese Accounting Standards[1]

Businesses edit

Its initial aim was to "attract and utilize foreign capital, introduce advanced technologies, and adopt advanced and scientific international practice in operation and management."[7] It now owns 44 subsidiaries including China CITIC Bank, CITIC Limited, CITIC Trust and CITIC Merchant (mainly banks) in Mainland China, Hong Kong, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.[citation needed]

History edit

CITIC Group was founded as the China International Trust Investment Corporation (Chinese: 中国国际信托投资公司; abb. CITIC), a Chinese state-owned enterprise in 1979. In the 1980s, Chinese government founded many for profit corporations, which CITIC was under the leadership of Rong Yiren, a former businessman and politician at that time, who chose to stay in the mainland China in the 1950s after his family business was nationalized.[8] His son, Larry Yung,[nb 1] was the former chairman of CITIC Group's listed subsidiary CITIC Pacific. Larry also led the Hong Kong office and parent company of CITIC Pacific since 1986; Larry became a Hong Kong-based businessman since 1978.[8] Throughout the 1980s, Xiong Xianghui served as CITIC vice chair and significant CITIC leadership was drawn from the Intelligence Bureau of the Joint Staff Department.[9]

CITIC Group headquarters was based in Beijing; Hong Kong office was formally opened in 1985.[8] The Mainland-based CITIC Bank was founded by the group in 1984.[8] The group also acquired 12.5% stake of the Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific in 1987,[8] and became a member of a shareholders' agreement in 2006;[10] the stake was sold to fellow state-owned company Air China in 2009.[11] The group also acquired Hong Kong-based Ka Wah Bank in 1986.[8] In 1990, the group also absorbed some of the subsidiaries of another state-owned company, 中国康华发展总公司.[12] Other notable acquisitions included 38.3% stake of another airline Dragonair, 20% stake of Hong Kong Telecom, etc.[8]

CITIC also acquired a Hong Kong listed company and renamed to CITIC Pacific in the 1990s.[citation needed]

2000s edit

Its subsidiary, CITIC Pacific (Chinese: 中信泰富, now known as CITIC Limited), made unauthorized bets on the foreign currency market in October 2008 and lost HK$14.7 billion (US$1.9 billion, when accounted for in mark-to-market terms). Senior executives such as Financial Controller Chau Chi-Yin and Group Finance Director Leslie Chang resigned.[13][14][15] Its stock price plunged 55.1 percent upon the resumption of trade.[16]

In 2015, CITIC Group sold 10% stake of CITIC Limited to a joint-venture of Itochu and Charoen Pokphand for HK$34.4 billion (US$4.54 billion); the joint venture also subscribed new convertible preferred shares for HK$45.9 billion (or US$5.9 billion).[17] It was reported it was the largest investment ever made by a Japanese general trading company.[18] The transaction is also the largest acquisition in China by a Japanese company, and the largest investment by foreigners in a Chinese state-owned enterprise.[19]

In 2023, China Huarong Asset Management, the company that manages the troubled assets, contracted to buy 5.01 percent of Citic Limited for HK$13.6 billion (US$1.7 billion). Huarong will acquire a stake from CITIC Group’s subsidiary, Citic Polaris. In addition, Huarong plans to change the name to China Citic Financial Asset Management. The deal is a return on the investment that CITIC invested in 2021, leading the rescue of Huarong.[20][21]

CITIC CEFC bond default edit

In November 2016, CITIC CLSA acted as the sole bookrunner for CEFC Shanghai's US$250 bond issuance. CITIC CLSA hid from the market that the bond deal was only 60% subscribed at pricing. It manipulated the bond price in the secondary market in an effort to offload the 100mm USD bond CITIC CLSA held on its balance sheet.[22]

In May 2018, CITIC Group announced they would repay ca 450 million euros owed by CEFC Europe to finance and banking group J&T within days but since the debt was not paid a week later, J&T announced it had taken over shareholder rights and installed crisis management at CEFC Europe.[23][24] Several days later, CEFC Shanghai defaulted on $327 million in bond payments, and offered to make the payments six months after the maturity date.[25]

In October 2020, some retail CEFC bondholders in Hong Kong filed a complaint to the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong against the bond's sole underwriter CITIC CLSA.[22]

Group companies edit

Equity investments edit

See also edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Yung was another transliteration of the same surname: simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Róng.

References edit

  1. ^ "2013 Annual Report" (RAR). CITIC Group. 2014. Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  2. ^ "CITIC Group Corporation: Brief Introduction". CITIC Group. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  3. ^ "Citic Group Contact". Archived from the original on 2013-03-10. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  4. ^ Liu, Alfred (August 14, 2019). "Citic Joins Chinese State Firms Boycotting Cathay Pacific". Bloomberg Business. Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  5. ^ "CITIC Limited | Corporate Profile". citic.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  6. ^ "The Global 2000 2023". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  7. ^ "Citic Limited". Archived from the original on 2012-06-20.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g 郭國燦 [Guócàn, Guō] (October 2009). "Róng Yìrén yǔ Zhōngxìn de dànshēng" 榮毅仁與中信的誕生. Xiānggǎng zhōngzī Cáituán 香港中資財團 (in Traditional Chinese) (1 ed.). Hong Kong: Joint Publishing (Sino United Publishing). pp. 71–81. ISBN 978-962-04-2886-9.
  9. ^ Faligot, Roger (June 2019). Chinese Spies: From Chairman Mao to Xi Jinping. Translated by Lehrer, Natasha. Oxford University Press. p. 204. ISBN 978-1-78738-096-7. OCLC 1104999295.
  10. ^ 國泰「反狙擊」協議全面曝光 主席需太古提名 非國泰推薦國航禁售股權. Ming Pao (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Hong Kong: Media Chinese International. 3 January 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  11. ^ 中信掟國泰套73億. Oriental Daily News (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Hong Kong: Oriental Press Group. 18 August 2009. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  12. ^ 国务院办公厅转发中国康华发展总公司关于所属子公司撤并转方案请示的通知. 国办发 (in Chinese (China)). 1990 (5). Beijing: General Office of the State Council. 7 February 1990.
  13. ^ Keith Bradsher (2008-10-20). "Citic Pacific could lose $2 billion from foreign exchange trading". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2011-12-24. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  14. ^ Alison Leung, Ruth Wong (2008-10-20). "CITIC Pacific warns potential $2 billion forex losses". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2015-11-07. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  15. ^ Katherine Ng (2008-10-21). "Heads roll as $15.5b losses loom". The Standard. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26.
  16. ^ 中信泰富暴挫55.1%. Sing Tao Daily (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 2008-10-21. Archived from the original on 2008-10-26 – via yahoo!.
  17. ^ "CITIC Limited Receives Investment from Charoen Pokphand Group and ITOCHU" (PDF). Itochu, Charoen Pokphand and CITIC Group. 20 January 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  18. ^ "Itochu, CP to jointly invest 1 trillion yen in China's CITIC Group". Nikkei. 20 January 2015. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  19. ^ Fukase, Atsuko (20 January 2015). "Thaw in Japan-China Business Ties? Itochu's CITIC Deal Towers Above Others". Wall Street Journal Japan Real Time. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  20. ^ "Huarong Sends $1.7 Billion Back to Citic After Asset Sales". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2024-02-28. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  21. ^ "Huarong Sends $1.7 Billion Back to Citic Group After Asset Sales". Caixin Global. Archived from the original on 2024-02-28. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  22. ^ a b "UPDATE 1- CEFC Energy Retail Bondholders File SFC Complaint against Bond Bookrunner CLSA". Debtwire. 2020-12-30. Archived from the original on 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  23. ^ "UPDATE 1-China's CITIC to pay CEFC Europe's 450 MLN euro debt - CEFC official". Reuters. 2018-05-09. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  24. ^ "UPDATE 2-J&T Private Investments says takes over shareholder rights in CEFC Europe". Reuters. 2018-05-17. Archived from the original on 2018-07-05. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  25. ^ "UPDATE 1-CEFC Shanghai International defaults on $327 MLN in bond payments". Reuters. 2018-05-21. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2021-03-29.

External links edit