Jul. 23, 2012 (China Knowledge) - China Life Insurance (Group) Co, China Life Insurance Co Ltd<601628><2628>, the country's largest life insurance company, will acquire a 2% stake in China Huarong Asset Management Corp from the Ministry of Finance (MOF), said sources familiar with the matter.
 
China Huarong, which is now fully-owned by the MOF, will be restructured into a joint-stock company next month, a further step toward a business-oriented firm.

China Huarong, one of the four state-owned asset management companies set up in 1999 to settle the non-performing assets of China's Big-Four banks, earlier this year obtained approval from the State Council to become a joint-stock company.

The company, with businesses ranging from asset management, financial leasing, securities to real estate, saw its net profit surge 148% YoY to RMB 5 billion last year.