Two state-owned asset management companies on Monday issued a total of 3.7 billion yuan (474 million US dollars) of asset-backed securities (ABS) for non-performing assets.

The ABS issuance was approved by the People's Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).

This is the first time China has issued securitized products for non-performing assets and also the first sally into the non-performing assets sector since China Development Bank and China Construction Bank issued ABS last year.

China Cinda Asset Management Corp. issued three-billion yuan of ABS and the China Orient Asset Management Corp., 700 million yuan.

The ABS can be traded in the inter-bank bond market and all investors in the market can invest in the newly issued securities.

Experts said that the issuance of this type of security will make the handling of non-performing assets more efficient, stimulate the market and help reduce risks in the financial system.

According to CBRC statistics, four state-owned asset management companies of China, China Huarong Asset Management Corp., China Great Wall Asset Management Corp., Cinda and Orient, had handled a total of 866.3 billion yuan of non-performing assets by the end of March. 180.5 billion yuan was retrieved, 20.84 percent of the total.