(Yicai Global) Nov. 25 -- Shenhua Holdings, a subsidiary of insolvent Brilliance Auto Group that is also heavily in the red, is trying to free up some cash by selling a number of profit-making assets to avoid being dragged down the plughole with the carmaker.

There are stakes in six wind power plants and one photovoltaic solar power station up for sale, Shenhua said on Nov. 23. The Shanghai-based firm, which mainly invests in the automobile sector, owns 51 percent equity in four of the projects and 49 percent in the three others.

The seven units have stable profits and regular dividend payments, it said. They raked in net profit of CNY31.2 million (USD4.7 million) in the first three quarters and CNY221 million (USD33.6 million) in revenue.

The sale of its ‘golden eggs’ will help shore up the firm’s own precarious financial situation. As of Sept. 30, Shenhua had just CNY591 million (USD90 million) in cash. It had racked up CNY1.18 billion (USD179 million) in short-term loans, of which CNY169 million (USD25.7 million) is due within the next year.

Shenhua is heavily implicated in Brilliance Auto’s insolvency. The Shenyang, Liaoning province-based firm, which has liabilities of CNY52.4 billion (USD8 billion), holds 22.93 percent equity in Shenhua, almost a quarter of which has now been frozen, according to court documents filed on Nov. 20.

Shenhua has also guaranteed CNY446 million (USD67.8 million) of Brilliance Auto’s debt. And it is owed CNY140 million by the parent firm, money that it is now unlikely to ever receive.

Editor: Kim Taylor