(Yicai Global) Sept. 14 -- China’s National Social Security Fund has cashed out CNY3.84 billion (USD562.2 million) of its shares in Bank of Communications, one of the country’s biggest lenders, in what the bank called a regular investment decision by the state-level fund.

The fund had announced an intention to divest some of its stake in Shanghai-based BoCom in June. It is still the bank’s third-largest shareholder, with 12.16 billion shares, or 16.37 percent of the outstanding total, BoCom said on Sept. 11.

The National Social Security Fund sold 743 million shares of BoCom from July 2 to Sept. 9, the bank said, adding that the sale would not affect the fund’s strategic shareholding or business cooperation with it.

BoCom’s shares [SHA:601328] edged up 0.2 percent today to CNY4.62 (68 US cents). The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6 percent.

Net profit at the bank fell 14.6 percent to CNY36.5 billion (USD5.35 billion) in the six months ended June from a year earlier, its semi-annual earnings report showed on Aug. 28. It was the first decline in BoCom’s first-half profit since it went public in Shanghai in 2007 as the coronavirus outbreak resulted in more bad loans.

The National Social Security Fund had total assets of CNY2.63 trillion (USD384.8 billion) as of Dec. 31, a gain of CNY291.7 billion (USD42.7 billion) over 12 months, it said in an annual report published on Sept. 11.

Editor: Ben Armour