(Yicai Global) June 29 -- China Asset Management is about to undergo a big change to its shareholding structure as the fourth largest owner of the leading Chinese fund manager is selling its stake and the new buyer has yet to be announced.

Tianjin Haipeng Technology Consulting plans to sell the 10 percent equity it holds in China Asset Management for USD490 million, Citic Securities said yesterday, citing the affiliate of Hong Kong investment firm Primavera Capital Group. Citic Securities is the biggest shareholder with 62.2 percent equity but is foregoing its preferential right to buy the stake.

Although no mention was made of why Haipeng Technology is selling its equity, there are a number of mutual fund firms undergoing big changes in ownership. Some 17 asset managers were waiting for regulatory approval to transfer stakes larger than 5 percent as of June 28, according to Wind data.

It may be a good time to cash out, given the current high valuations of mutual fund firms, industry insiders said. Also, more capital has entered the public fund market recently as increased opening-up measures allow swift development of the country’s financial markets.

China Asset Management, which is China’s fifth-largest fund manager with over CNY1 trillion (USD150 billion) in assets under management, has been performing well in recent years. Profit soared 44.7 percent last year from the year before to CNY2.3 billion (USD343.1 million) and revenue surged 44.6 percent to CNY8 billion.

The country’s mutual fund industry was worth a record CNY26 trillion (USD3.88 trillion) in February, according to data from the Securities Association of China. And there were 720 million investors in domestic funds as of the end of last year.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Kim Taylor