State-asset company prepares for brokage

(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-03 08:40

China Orient Asset Management Corp is on track to hire investment bankers and researchers, among other staff, for a securities arm that it is preparing to set up, sources said yesterday.

The state-asset manager will likely wrap up the preparations in the third quarter and then officially launch Dongxing Securities Co, which is likely to get brokerage, investment banking and proprietary trading licenses, people familiar with the matter said.

Dongxing is seeking at least 20 licensed sponsors and several senior managers for its investment banking unit, which is to be based in Shanghai - home to the country's bigger stock exchange, the sources said.

The new brokerage is also looking for a dozen researchers and analysts as well as brokers and proprietary traders, according to the people.

China Orient in February won regulatory approval to set up Dongxing in a state-led campaign to encourage government-owned bad-debt managers to launch commercial operations.

China created four asset management companies in 1999 - Great Wall, Cinda, Huarong and China Orient - to help clear up the balance sheets of the nation's four biggest banks.

All the AMCs have said they would start commercial securities businesses after having cleared up billions of yuan worth of bad debts at the lenders early this year in a move to transform the banks into strong financial conglomerates.

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Dongxing is set to be created from securities assets China Orient has bought from bankrupt Minfa Securities Co and will have a registered capital of 1.5 billion yuan (US$197 million), sources said earlier.

China Orient in April agreed to seek ties with Bank of China in the proposed businesses including bad-loan disposal, credit rating, insurance as well as asset management.

The other three rivals of China Orient are also boosting moves to set up brokerages and seek partners as they prepare to start commercial operations by the end of this year.

Media reports said last month that Industrial & Commercial Bank of China may buy part of Huarong Asset Management Co to expand into securities, leasing and other financial services.

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