Trust equity transfers face a cooling trend, with some small and medium shareholders accelerating their exit

Trust companies’ minority shareholders are accelerating their “full exit” and unloading shares. Recently, information from the Beijing Equity Exchange shows that China Railway Trust Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as “China Railway Trust”)’s 0.826% equity was publicly listed for transfer. The transfer reserve price is RMB 90.5016 million, and the transferor is Pansteel Group Chengdu Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. The listing period for this transfer is from December 29, 2025 to April 3, 2026.

This is not the first time this portion of equity has been listed for transfer. On November 23, 2025, according to information on the national comprehensive service platform for the informatization of the property rights industry, China Railway Trust’s 0.826% equity had previously been listed for transfer, with a transfer reserve price of RMB 100.55724 million. The transferor was also Pansteel Group Chengdu Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., and the information disclosure end date was December 19, 2025. Compared with the listing at the end of last year, the current listed transfer price is equivalent to a 10% discount.

Public information shows that Pansteel Group Chengdu Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. was established on May 22, 2002, with Zhang Hu as its legal representative and registered capital of RMB 1.61 billion. Its business scope includes sales of metal products, sales of non-metal minerals and products, repairs of metal products, and so on. The company is held 82.23% by Pansteal Group Chengdu Pansteel Co., Ltd., and 16.77% by Chengdu Industrial Investment Group Co., Ltd.

Shu Guoren, a researcher at Usei Trust, said that the intention of minority shareholders in trust companies to exit may have three possible reasons: first, the minority shareholders themselves are adjusting their strategies, needing to optimize their capital allocation and focus on their core business; second, the trust industry is in a period of deep transformation, and many trust companies’ operating performance has declined significantly, which does not meet the company’s strategic investment requirements; third, regarding specific matters of the trust company, some minority shareholders have relatively weak say in decision-making, making it difficult to participate more deeply in operations.

According to information on the China Railway Trust website, the company was established in December 2002. Approved by the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, it is a non-bank financial institution with financial trust as its main business. Registered capital is RMB 5 billion, and the scale of assets under comprehensive management exceeds RMB 600 billion. Currently, the company has 16 shareholders. Its equity structure takes a diversified form in which central state-owned enterprises hold controlling stakes, local state-owned enterprises and private enterprises hold stakes. Among them, China Railway Group Limited is the company’s major shareholder, holding 78.91%. Pansteel Group Chengdu Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. is the company’s 10th largest shareholder, holding 0.826%.

“In other words, Pansteel Group Chengdu Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. is unloading all of its equity holdings in China Railway Trust in this full exit.” A market observer said.

In fact, aside from China Railway Trust, recently shares of multiple other trust companies have also been listed for transfer “at a discount.” The reporter, upon checking data from the Beijing and Shanghai Equity Exchanges, found that previously, several trust companies—including Evergrande Trust, Sinotech Trust, Western Trust, and China Haishin Trust—had all sought buyers. However, the market demand for some equity targets of trust companies has not been strong, and they have even run into embarrassing situations involving multiple rounds of transfer, as well as delays and price cuts. Among them, the equity of Evergrande Trust and Western Trust had been listed for transfer four times in succession.

“Compared with the scorching demand in prior years, the heat around trust companies’ equity has clearly cooled in recent years. Still, the value of trust companies’ equity ultimately depends on two factors: the value of the license and the company’s operating situation.” A trust-industry analyst in Beijing said. “Under the strict regulation environment for big asset management, the value of trust companies’ equity has declined, but they still have unique advantages in operating across markets. In particular, those trust companies whose trust asset operations are stable, whose prior operations have been steady, and whose potential non-performing projects are transparent and controllable still have appeal in terms of equity.”

“The cooling of the market for trust equity transfers is a normal situation. Under current market conditions, the share prices of many listed financial institutions have already fallen below their net asset value.” said Yu Zhi, a researcher at the Usei Financial Trust Research Institute. “At present, the trust industry is at a critical stage of business transformation, and the operations of most trust companies have been affected, with significant pressure on performance. Combined with the continued exposure of industry overhang risks, the overall valuation of trust companies’ equity has declined, which has a substantial impact on the value of trust companies’ equity held by minority shareholders. In the short term, it may be difficult to reverse this trend, and minority shareholders’ transfers of equity are likely to continue.”