Real Estate Marketplace Fang.com Completes Spin-off Of China Index Holdings

Online real estate portal Fang.com announced that it has successfully separated its subsidiary – China Index Holdings (CIH) – to create two independent, publicly traded companies with “different objectives and opportunities”.

In a statement, Fang said the separation was done via a dividend distribution of all the CIH ordinary shares owned by Fang to Fang’s equity holders. CIH is the holding firm for Fang’s China Index Academy research unit.

Following the separation, CIH, the largest real estate information and analytics service platform provider in China, will now focus on serving the country’s commercial property sector.

CIH recorded $61 million in revenue last year, up 32 per cent compared to the year prior. It also posted $24 million in net profit on the same period, a 29 per cent rise from the year prior.

It has appointed four new board members, Huang Yu, Jie Jiao, Robert Ciemniak, and Jeff Xuesong Leng following the separation. Vincent Tianquan Mo remains and will continue to serve as chairman of both the board of CIH and Fang.

Fang announced the spin-off last month, through which it would distribute 72.5 million CIH shares to its shareholders in the form of a dividend.

On June 5, Nasdaq approved CIH’s application for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “CIH”. Trading of CIH’s ADSs began on a “when-issued” basis on June 7 and continued up to the completion of the separation and distribution

Fang, on the other hand, will retain its business operating an online real estate portal focusing primarily on serving the residential property sector, according to the statement.

The firm has 65 offices that focus on local market needs and its website and database contain real estate-related content covering 658 cities in China.

Fang saw total revenue fall by more than 30 per cent for the second consecutive year in 2018. It has also terminated other services in addition to CIH.