Jinko Solar Co Ltd of China announced the sale of its unit for 4.3 billion yuan ($622.10 million) to buyers including a government-linked fund, as one of the world's largest solar panel producers seeks to cut costs and improve efficiency.

The sale of Jinko Solar's Xinjiang unit to Ziyang Major Industry Equity Investment Fund, backed by authorities in the southwestern province of Sichuan, and to Dong Shihong, chairman of Suzhou Shijing Environmental Technology Co Ltd, is subject to an antitrust review by China's State Administration for Market Regulation, the company said in a filing on Wednesday.

The sale of Xinjiang Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. will lower Jinko's operational costs, increase its production efficiency and optimize its facility mix, Jinko Solar's indirect controlling shareholder JinkoSolar Holding Co Ltd said in a separate statement.

The Xinjiang unit reported an unaudited net profit of 139.9 million yuan ($20.24 million) in the first three month this year and an audited net profit of 152.1 million yuan in 2022, according to Jinko Solar's filing.

The unit's unaudited net assets stood at 1.1 billion yuan as of end March, said the filing.

Ziyang Major Industry Equity Investment Fund's main investor is an investment group set up by the state asset regulating authority in the city of Ziyiang and the provincial finance department in Sichuan, where Ziyang is based, the filing showed.