The State-owned China Cinda Asset Management Co Ltd has sold 16.54 percent of its shares to four investors to raise 10.37 billion yuan ($1.64 billion), and is looking for the best time for an initial public offering in both the domestic and overseas markets.

The new shareholders are the China National Council for Social Security Fund, UBS AG, Citic Capital Holdings Ltd, and Standard Chartered Plc, the company announced on Friday.

The social security fund became the second-largest shareholder in the asset management company, investing 5 billion yuan for an 8 percent stake. That was the first time the fund put money into the financial-asset management industry, according to Wang Zhongmin, the vice-chairman of the National Council for Social Security Fund.

"The capital injection is significant for reforms to the financial system," Wang said. "And it can help maintain and increase the value of the social security fund."

Despite the share sales, the largest shareholder in Cinda remains the Ministry of Finance, which owned the entire company before. As for the three overseas investors, they together hold 8.54 percent of the company's shares.

"The investors cannot transfer their shares within three years," said Zhang Weidong, board secretary of the asset management company.

In the past year, Cinda earned 6.38 billion yuan in net profit. The company's total assets had reached 172.4 billion yuan by the end of last year.

In 1999, the Ministry of Finance established four asset management companies to clean up bad assets held by the big four State-owned commercial banks.

Since 2010, the pace of their market reforms has been accelerated through the restructuring and liquidation of brokerages, financial-leasing and trust-investment firms.

chenjia1@chinadaily.com.cn