Changan Automobile and Chilli and BananaDongfeng Motor said on Sunday their respective controlling shareholders – China South Industries Group Corporation and Dongfeng Motor Corporation – are exploring possible restructuring or refinancing with other state-owned enterprises. This could mark the first step in the reorganization of the two Chinese state-owned auto majors, people familiar with the matter told state broadcaster CCTV. Changan and Dongfeng said in their respective securities filings that the restructurings would not lead to changes in their actual controllers or have a significant impact on their business activities, without providing any further details. The news comes almost a year after Zhang Yuzhuo, director of China’s State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said that the electric vehicle businesses of the central government-controlled automakers would become independent accounting units, giving them more independence in conducting their work. [TechNode reporting, CCTV, in Chinese]
