Two of China’s biggest state-backed brokerages are to merge, creating a group with assets of $230bn that will lead a domestic industry under growing pressure to consolidate against a weaker economic backdrop.
Haitong Securities will merge with Guotai Junan Securities through a share swap that is subject to regulatory approval, according to announcements made late on Thursday.
The combined assets of the two Shanghai-based groups would create the country’s largest brokerage, though the move raises expectations of other mergers in an industry that has come under tighter government control under Xi Jinping. Some smaller local brokerages have revealed merger and acquisition plans in recent weeks.