All six major state-owned banks' AICs have been established, and the number of bank-affiliated institutions has expanded to nine.

Staff Reporter Peng Yan

Postal Savings Bank of China’s subsidiary, China Post Financial Asset Investment Co., Ltd. (referred to as “China Post Investment”), officially received approval to commence operations on March 20. This marks the establishment of the sixth state-owned major bank’s financial asset investment company (AIC), completing the full set of AIC licenses for the six largest state-owned banks. By the end of 2025, with the launch of AICs by Industrial Bank, China Merchants Bank, and China CITIC Bank, the total number of bank-affiliated AICs will increase to nine, including six state-owned banks and three joint-stock banks.

From Dominance of State-Owned Banks to Diversified Expansion

As a specialized platform connecting indirect and direct financing, AIC’s core focus is providing “patient capital” to solve long-term financing difficulties for enterprises, especially in high-tech innovation sectors. Looking back at industry development, in 2017, the first batch of AICs was established by the five major state-owned banks: ICBC, ABC, BOC, CCB, and BOCOM. Their core mission was to serve market-oriented debt-to-equity swaps and resolve high leverage risks for enterprises, during the early institutional stage.

In September 2024, the pilot cities for AIC equity investment expanded to 18 cities; in March 2025, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission issued a notice supporting eligible commercial banks to initiate AICs, further expanding the scope.

With continuous policy support and implementation, the expansion of AICs has accelerated significantly, with the industry lineup dominated initially by large state-owned banks. In 2025, Postal Savings Bank, China Merchants Bank, China CITIC Bank, and Industrial Bank successively received approval to establish AICs, with three joint-stock banks’ AICs approved to commence operations by year-end. On March 20, Postal Savings Bank announced it received approval from the National Financial Regulatory Authority for China Post Financial Asset Investment to start operations. The registered capital of China Post Investment is 10 billion RMB, based in Beijing. With China Post Investment’s launch, all six major state-owned banks’ AICs are now in operation, bringing the total bank-affiliated AICs to nine.

Zeng Gang, Director of the Shanghai Financial and Development Laboratory, told Securities Daily that the launch of China Post Investment has three significant implications: first, the formation of a multi-layered AIC system; second, a shift in focus toward technology equity investments, with consensus on “early, small, hard tech” investments; third, the value of AICs as “patient capital” is confirmed, becoming a key link in the “technology—industry—finance” cycle. Currently, AICs are moving from the license dividend period into a capability-driven deep operational phase, reshaping the industry competitive landscape.

Accelerated Investment Project Progress

As AICs are established one after another, the pace of related investment projects has significantly increased. Leading institutions such as ICBC, Bank of Communications, and CCB have set up numerous equity funds, mainly investing in pilot cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. The pace of AIC projects under joint-stock banks has also continued to accelerate; for example, China Merchants Bank’s AIC participated in the capital increase of DeepBlue Automotive Technology, and China CITIC Bank’s AIC completed an investment in Shenzhen Honghua Topxin Clean Energy, becoming its second-largest shareholder.

Zeng Gang pointed out that currently, large state-owned banks and joint-stock banks have developed differentiated paths for their AICs. State-owned banks often adopt dual GP and parent-subsidiary fund structures, linking with local state assets, covering traditional and emerging industries. Joint-stock banks mainly focus on direct equity investments and combined loan-investment models, targeting strategic emerging industries like new energy and semiconductors, with higher marketization.

He believes that the dense deployment of AICs by banks is driven by multiple strategic considerations. Policy guidance is a key driver, as AICs are positioned as core carriers of technology finance. Establishing AICs is both a response to regulatory requirements and a way to seize policy dividends. Additionally, facing narrowing net interest margins and slowing traditional credit growth, AICs open a new track for banks’ equity investments, helping expand non-interest income and transition toward comprehensive financial service providers. Moreover, debt-to-equity swaps can activate existing assets and optimize risk structures, serving as risk management tools.

However, Zeng Gang noted that the development of bank-affiliated AICs still faces multiple challenges. The main issue is the difficulty in transforming the traditional “debt-oriented” mindset of banks’ credit culture into the “equity logic” required for equity investments, with conflicts between conservative risk control and high-risk equity investments, and shortcomings in research and investment capabilities. Exit mechanisms are also imperfect, with some projects facing exit difficulties. Additionally, insufficient compensation incentives and an incomplete fault-tolerance mechanism hinder talent development in equity investment. He suggests that a key to breaking through is differentiated positioning: large state-owned banks should leverage their capital and client advantages to focus on large-scale strategic projects and industrial chain integration, while joint-stock banks should deepen niche markets and build professional barriers through market-oriented advantages. Accelerating technological empowerment to enhance research and risk identification capabilities is also essential.

Yang Haiping, researcher at the Shanghai Financial and Legal Research Institute, told Securities Daily that AICs are crucial for upgrading the financial system and developing specialized tech innovation finance models. Future focus areas include: first, revitalizing existing assets through market-oriented debt-to-equity swaps and other models; second, linking with local government fund of funds to boost tech innovation finance; third, collaborating with parent banks to explore integrated solutions for high-tech industry investment and banking services.