BEIJING - China Cinda Asset Management, one of the country's four state-owned distressed asset managers, reported a 17.9 percent increase in profits in 2015 due to steady development of its core business.

Profits attributable to equity holders reached 14 billion yuan ($2.15 billion) last year, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where it is listed.

Cinda is one of China's four state-owned asset management companies set up in 1999 to tackle bad loans, the other three are Huarong, Great Wall and Orient.

In 2015, the new acquisition costs of traditional distressed assets came in at 85.14 billion yuan, jumping 176.5 percent from a year earlier.

As of the end of 2015, total assets of the company amounted 714 billion yuan, up 31.1 percent from 2014.

To improve the company's business model, Cinda acquired Nanyang Commercial Bank, a licensed bank in Hong Kong, last year, which the company hopes will boost growth.