Citi gets China nod for fully owned securities unit
China's securities regulator approved Citi's plan to set up a wholly owned securities unit in Shanghai, allowing the US bank to offer onshore capital markets services. Citi aims to double its headcount to about 100 by year-end as part of its expansion in China.
China's securities regulator approved a plan by US bank Citi on Friday to establish a fully owned securities unit in the country, allowing the Wall Street lender to expand its presence in the world's second-largest economy.
Headquartered in Shanghai, Citigroup Securities China Company is permitted to offer onshore capital markets services to domestic and foreign clients. These services include underwriting, equities brokerage, trading onshore securities, securities research and investment advisory, according to the regulator.
The US bank, which already offers corporate, institutional and other banking services in China, applied for a wholly owned mainland Chinese brokerage unit licence in late 2021 as part of its push to ramp up its China onshore operations.
Citi has been hiring for the business over the last couple of years and aims to roughly double the headcount to around 100 people by the end of this year, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters in September.
“By adding onshore capabilities to our global platform, we will be able to do more for clients in China’s domestic capital markets, including helping them raise capital, access investors and trade locally, while connecting them to opportunities around the world,” group CEO Jane Fraser said in a statement.