(Yicai Global) Oct. 11 -- Beijing Capital Group Co. is looking to sell its 60 percent stake in Tianjin Beijing-Tianjin Expressway Co., and the floor price of the share transfer is set as high as USD424 million (CNY2.8 billion), The Beijing News reported yesterday.

One of China's most important intercity highways is thus set to change hands.

The company did not disclose the reason for the share sale. Noteworthy, however, is that it has been driving a major business transformation. Beijing Capital Group will intensify its business restructuring efforts this year, its chairman Li Aiqing said.

Tianjin Beijing-Tianjin Expressway Co. formed in 2004 to take charge of construction and management of the Beijing-Tianjin Expressway, the second freeway connecting the two municipalities and the first two-way eight-lane highway built in the capital. The expressway opened to traffic in July 2008.

The firm currently has four shareholders -- Beijing Capital Group, with a 60-percent shareholding, Fengyi Huatai Industrial Co. (25 percent), Tianjin Expressway Group Co. (10 percent) and Tianjin Yutong Highway Construction and Development Co. (five percent).

Boasting total assets of CNY250 billion, Beijing Capital Group specializes in environmental protection, infrastructure construction, real estate and financial services as its four core businesses. Its infrastructure business unit has built several metro lines, as well as other transport infrastructure facilities and road networks in Beijing. The Beijing-Tianjin Expressway has formed an important part of its infrastructure construction business.

The expressway company logged operating income of CNY470 million last year, but failed to yield any net profit. Its operating income and net profit came in at CNY220 million and CNY1.047 million, respectively in the first half. The firm's total assets stood at CNY10.3 billion and its total liabilities CNY6.96 billion as of the end of June, with a debt ratio of around 67 percent.