After seven years of investment, Ping An Life Insurance has begun reducing its stake in China Fortune Land Development (CFLD) at a significant loss.
On December 1, CFLD announced that Ping An Life Insurance and its affiliate Ping An Asset Management collectively sold 7,815,487 shares (0.20% of total equity) through centralized bidding between October 20-21. This followed an August 9 disclosure of plans to sell up to 3% within three months, though the final divestment fell short of the maximum target.
The share reduction came amid escalating tensions between Ping An and CFLD's controlling shareholder over a controversial asset restructuring plan. Prior to the sale, Ping An entities held 25.19% of CFLD, decreasing to 24.99% post-transaction.
Simultaneously, Ping An Life initiated legal action against CFLD's parent company and chairman Wang Wenxue ("Wang Mou" in court documents). Shanghai Financial Court will hear the "arbitration agreement validity confirmation" case on December 17.
The conflict originated in October 2024 when CFLD proposed transferring two subsidiaries—including 2.71 billion yuan in physical assets, 19.86 billion yuan in receivables, and 22.575 billion yuan of debt to Langfang Bank—to Langfang Asset Management for 2 yuan. Ping An opposed the plan, with 44.6% of votes cast against it. Critics argued the arrangement effectively prioritized Langfang Bank's claims while potentially stripping CFLD of quality assets.
Further disputes emerged on November 17 when CFLD announced court acceptance of a preliminary restructuring petition from creditor Longcheng Construction—a move director Wang Wei (Ping An's representative) claimed violated corporate governance procedures as she received no prior notice. Wang had previously voted against 2025 interim report provisions regarding the asset restructuring.
Ping An's costly CFLD investment began in July 2018 with a 13.77 billion yuan purchase for 19.7% equity, followed by a 4.203 billion yuan top-up in January 2019 to reach 25.25% ownership—averaging approximately 24 yuan per share. Despite becoming the largest shareholder after a 2021 forced share disposal by CFLD's parent, Ping An recognized 43.2 billion yuan in impairment losses that year from its 54 billion yuan exposure.
CFLD's financial deterioration continues, with Q3 2025 revenue plunging 72% year-over-year to 3.882 billion yuan—just 6% of 2019 levels—and non-GAAP losses exceeding 10 billion yuan. With shares now trading around 2 yuan, Ping An faces mounting challenges in exiting its position without further losses.
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