CITIC (00267) introduces new shareholders, taking high-quality development to a new level.

On November 15, China Best Financing Asset Management Co., Ltd. (referred to as China Best Financing) announced that, according to the company's overall strategic planning and positioning, China Best Financing intends to change its company name to "China CITIC Financial Asset Management Co., Ltd." At the same time, the company has signed a share transfer agreement with CITIC Group and CITIC Shengxing (a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Group) to acquire 5.01% of the issued shares of CITIC (00267) for HKD 13.627 billion. The market is closely watching the introduction of new shareholders by CITIC and the company's future development, believing that this move will not only open up potential space for the company's capital operations, but also further strengthen synergies and help the company create greater value for shareholders. Deepening synergies and continuously creating greater returns for shareholders Market analysis believes that through this share transfer, CITIC's introduction of China Best Financing as a new shareholder will deepen the communication, cooperation, and synergy between CITIC and China Best Financing, promote CITIC's strategic layout in the non-performing asset industry, and also diversify the shareholder structure of CITIC, enrich market value management measures, and have a positive impact on further releasing the company's value. Based on CITIC's comprehensive advantages combining "technology-industry-finance," CITIC's subsidiaries and China Best Financing are expected to further strengthen their cooperation in the fields of asset acquisition and disposal, asset management, investment and financing, and support the development of the real economy in various business areas, improve operational quality and efficiency, enhance complementary advantages, broaden synergistic areas, enrich business channels, achieve win-win cooperation, and jointly support the high-quality development of the real economy. The diversification of the shareholder structure will also open up potential space for CITIC's future capital operations, benefiting investors to better share the company's development achievements. At the mid-term performance briefing in 2023, the CITIC management stated that the company has always attached great importance to shareholder returns and maintained a stable and sustainable dividend policy. Since its listing, CITIC's total dividend amount has grown at an average annual rate of 16.7%, which is 3.5 percentage points higher than the growth rate of net profit. The dividend payout ratio has been maintained at 25% or above for four consecutive years. Steady and good operating performance and significant advantages as a comprehensive enterprise Public information shows that in recent years, CITIC has maintained a steady performance, effectively coping with a series of external environmental challenges. The growth rates of net profit attributable to shareholders in 2020, 2021, and 2022 were 5%, 24%, and 7.5% respectively, with ROE of 8.95%, 9.85% and 10.10% respectively. In the first half of 2023, on a comparable basis excluding the one-time revaluation income from the consolidation of CITIC SEC in the same period of the previous year, net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 2.3% year-on-year. The company's management stated at the mid-term performance briefing in 2023 that CITIC continues to deepen reforms, consolidate its comprehensive operational advantages, and the comprehensive financial services sector focuses on the goal of building a first-class financial holding company, fully leveraging its financial full license and industry-leading advantages, continuously optimizing asset quality, further enhancing development vitality; the industrial sector continues to consolidate its leading position, seizing opportunities for industrial transformation and upgrading, actively creating a "second growth curve," steadily promoting global industrial layout, and further enhancing value creation capabilities. Based on the comprehensive operational advantages of the "technology-industry-finance" triangular cycle, the company has made good progress in lean headquarters management, comprehensive risk management, concentrated fund management, enhanced business synergy, improved operation quality and efficiency, and increased technological innovation, gradually building a "moat" with strong development resilience, high development certainty, and strong risk resistance. Xi China Best, Vice Chairman and General Manager of CITIC, said, "We welcome China Best to join CITIC as a new shareholder. This will help China Best further integrate into the overall development strategy of CITIC and enhance the synergistic effect between China Best and CITIC, as well as enhance CITIC's comprehensive financial services capabilities for the real economy. This share transfer is also a beneficial exploration of value management for the listed company and will help open up future capital operation space for CITIC and create greater value for shareholders."