(Yicai Global) March 1 -- Gree Electric Appliances has confirmed the Chinese home appliances giant’s intention to spin off subsidiaries in preparation for stock market listings. 

Gree is getting ready to spin out some of its equipment and core industrial component businesses before taking them public, Dong Mingzhu said during a general shareholders’ meeting yesterday at which she was reappointed as chairwoman for a fourth term.

The main purpose of the move is not to raise money, she said, but to help consumers understand that Gree is turning into a diversified company and no longer relies solely on its air-conditioner business.

Retail sales of air-con units in China fell 1 percent to CNY152.7 billion (USD24.2 billion) last year, according to data from All View Cloud Data Technology, while the number of units sold dropped almost 9 percent to 46.9 million.

The decline in air-con sales hit Zhuhai-based Gree's stock price last year, sending it down almost 40 percent.

Gree has been striving to buoy investor confidence. In January, the firm revealed its three-year shareholder incentivization plan, intending to hand over at least 50 percent of its annual net profit in two dividends a year. Last month, Gree said it will distribute CNY10 (USD1.60) per 10 shares, or a total of CNY5.5 billion (USD871.4 million), for the first half of 2021.

Dong, who has worked at Gree for 32 years, also has been its president since 2001. Before that, she held various positions such as business manager and deputy general manager.

Editor: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi