BIZCHINA / Center

Galaxy Securities reports first-half profit of 1.2b yuan
(South China Morning Post)
Updated: 2006-08-06 11:46

China Galaxy Securities, the country's biggest securities firm wholly owned by the central government, reported a profit of 1.2 billion yuan in the first six months amid its delayed restructuring process to a shareholding company.

Revenue at the brokerage was 1.4 billion yuan in the first half. Galaxy Securities' profit was the biggest of all earnings reported by local brokerages so far. It did not provide year-on-year comparison.

The brokerage, set up in 2000, reported trading volume of 828 billion yuan in the first half with the number of clients at more than 3.2 million. It also reported revenue of 310 million yuan from underwriting nine bonds as well as two initial public offerings including Bank of China and Xinxing Pipes.

Galaxy Securities had yet to complete its restructuring after almost a year since it received seven billion yuan from Central Huijin Investment, the central government's investment firm and the Ministry of Finance in August last year, a source said.

Under the restructuring plan, Galaxy Securities will be renamed China Galaxy Financial Holding and spin off its securities business into a new unit that will inherit its current name and 5.99 billion yuan capital.

China Galaxy Financial will then have four new shareholders, Tsinghua Venture Capital, ChongQing Water Holding, China General Technology (Group) Holding and Hong Kong-listed China National Building Material who will together invest seven million yuan into the securities unit.

However, Galaxy Securities has not completed the restructuring even though it has been two months since the six-month deadline required by the China Securities Regulatory Commission lapsed. The brokerage now does not have a timetable to complete the restructuring, said one source with the company.

Galaxy Securities management, who were satisfied with the interim profit, decided that a restructuring was unnecessary and planned to use the capital injection from the central government to repay debts, according to the Caijing magazine.


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