Chinese Securities Firm Guotai Junan Applies to List in Hong Kong

(Hong Kong) — Guotai Junan Securities Co. Ltd., one of China’s largest securities companies, applied to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday.

The firm was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2015 and its subsidiary, Guotai Junan International Holdings Ltd., was listed in Hong Kong in 2010.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved the potential listing in Hong Kong, Guotai Junan said in a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing on Friday.

Guotai said that it will use the funds from the Hong Kong listing, about HK$15.6 billion ($2 billion) according to market observers, to improve four core parts of its business — institutional finance, personal finance, investment management and international business.

Institutional and personal finance are the firm’s main revenue engines, accounting for 32.2% and 41.4% of total revenue respectively in the first nine months of 2016, while investment management saw the largest gain of 165.7% in the same period from a year earlier, according to the application.

Securities firms from mainland China have flocked to Hong Kong for initial public offerings since 2016, with the total number standing at 13. Seven are listed in both the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong, including China Merchant Securities Co. Ltd., Everbright Securities Co. Ltd., Citic Securities Co. Ltd. and GF Securities Co. Ltd.

Contact reporter Coco Feng (renkefeng@caixin.com)