(Yicai Global) Nov. 25 -- China's State Grid plans to bring on board private investors for two of its units in the insurance sector among a broader plan to reduce state investment in 12 of its subsidiaries.

Yingdai Taihe Life Insurance aims to sell 30 percent of its equity for around CNY3 billion (USD426 million), China Securities Journal reported. Yingda Taihe Property Insurance will also flog around 20 percent for an undisclosed amount, the report cited a source close to the property insurer as saying.

China has been pushing its state-owned enterprises to bring in more private capital in recent years so they can become more competitive, particularly in the energy, aviation, telecoms and defense sectors.

State Grid holds 80.1 percent of Yingda Life, which made CNY149 million (USDXX million) profit in 2018. It has registered capital of CNY4 billion and at the end of the third quarter of this year had net assets worth CNY3.6 billion at a solvency ratio of 179 percent.

Yingda Property, which is more than 99.4 percent owned by State Grid, has CNY3.1 billion in registered capital and generated CNY7.7 billion in premium income last year.

Editor: James Boynton