China Galaxy’s three-year strategy wraps up: breakthroughs in investment banking, strengthening wealth management, and overcoming the bottleneck with a differentiated approach to international business

Ask AI · Localized Operations for International Business: What New Paths Are Chinese Securities Firms Exploring Overseas?

Text / Gu Jin

China Galaxy Securities’ “Five-in-One, Three-Transformations Together” three-year strategic plan will reach its conclusion in 2025.

This veteran brokerage, known for its brokerage business, delivered its annual report on the evening of March 30. By 2025, the company achieved operating revenue of 28.3B yuan and net profit attributable to shareholders of 12.52 billion yuan. Core financial indicators showed steady progress, asset size continued to grow, and industry position remained solid.

From a business structure perspective, over the past three years, the investment banking business—once considered a weakness by the market—has seen significant changes. Although it has not yet entered the top ten in A-share equity underwriting, its industry ranking jumped from outside the top 20 in 2023 to 12th place, with M&A and restructuring business ranking 7th in the industry, and bond underwriting volume remaining 6th. In the Hong Kong market, Galaxy International Holdings’ IPO sponsorship scale entered the top ten for the first time, and offshore bond issuance ranked fifth among Chinese-funded securities firms.

Wealth management remains China Galaxy Securities’ traditional strength. By the end of 2025, the total number of brokerage clients exceeded 19.3 million, the scale of financial product holdings surpassed 250 billion yuan, and the investment advisory team expanded to 4,320 professionals. Against the backdrop of industry transformation from brokerage to wealth management, China Galaxy Securities has built a “standardized + personalized” client segmentation service system, extending from simple trading channels to comprehensive financial services.

The differentiated path of international business is equally noteworthy. Since initiating the acquisition and integration of Malaysia United Overseas Group’s securities business in 2017, the firm has charted a unique “M&A integration + localized operation” approach.

The 2025 annual report reflects not only financial growth but also structural changes within a traditional securities firm over a three-year strategic cycle. The rise in investment banking rankings, deepening of wealth management transformation, and differentiated international layout together form a new business landscape.

Investment Banking: Ranking Rise After Three Years of Specialization Reform

The changes in China Galaxy Securities’ investment banking over the past three years can be observed through several data points.

In A-share equity underwriting, in 2025, the firm completed 1 IPO and 7 refinancing projects, with an underwriting volume of 8.7B yuan, ranking 12th in the industry. In 2023, this ranking was outside the top 20. M&A and restructuring performed even better, completing 3 major asset restructuring projects for listed companies with a total transaction amount of 19.47B yuan, ranking 7th. In bonds underwriting, the total volume was 682.58B yuan, up 37.3% year-over-year, ranking 6th industry-wide, with local government bond underwriting ranking 5th.

Sources close to China Galaxy Securities revealed that the investment banking department underwent specialization reforms over the past three years, including optimizing team structures, adding specialized personnel, and improving project management processes. Under the “Three-Transformations Together” institutional mechanism, collaboration efficiency with wealth management, research, and international business lines has improved.

The Cylindrus project exemplifies this collaborative model. China Galaxy Securities first engaged with Cylindrus in 2023, then built trust through wealth management, branch offices, research institutes, and other lines, ultimately supporting Cylindrus’ Hong Kong listing as co-sponsor in 2025.

In fact, before Cylindrus’ Hong Kong listing, China Galaxy Securities served as the sole independent financial advisor to assist with its major asset restructuring and helped plan a strategic financing of 6.12 billion yuan. Cylindrus is a typical case of Galaxy’s full lifecycle investment banking service model.

Looking solely at A-share equity business, China Galaxy Securities has yet to break into the top ten industry rankings. However, in the broader Hong Kong market, the picture changes. In 2025, Galaxy International Holdings’ IPO sponsorship scale entered the top ten in Hong Kong for the first time, ranking fourth among Chinese-funded firms by project count; offshore bond issuance ranked fifth among Chinese securities firms. Recently, Galaxy International served as the exclusive financial advisor for China Duty Free Group’s acquisition of DFS Greater China and introduced LVMH as its H-share shareholder.

According to insiders, through integrated domestic and international collaboration, Galaxy Securities has accumulated 148 project filings. Its strategic positioning as “trusted investment banking experts for entrepreneurs” is gradually taking shape.

Wealth Management: The Transformation Path Behind Over 20 Million Clients

Wealth management remains China Galaxy Securities’ traditional strength. It is reported that its total client base now exceeds 20 million.

Against the industry’s shift from brokerage to wealth management, China Galaxy Securities’ approach is pragmatic—“replacing business with ecosystems, replacing marketing with scenarios.” By focusing on consolidation, platformization, ecology, and internationalization, it has built a “standardized + personalized” client segmentation service system.

In terms of transaction services, the firm launched 23 innovative products throughout the year, optimized intelligent trading tools, deployed large-scale AI models for marketing, and built a full-scenario digital human service system, serving 1.3 million clients. Products like “Galaxy Jinyi,” TDC Jinyao exclusive strategy services, and Xingyao Entrepreneurs Office are extending traditional channels into comprehensive financial services.

Financial product sales are a key focus of the wealth management transformation. By the end of 2025, China Galaxy Securities’ financial product holdings reached 251.95B yuan, up 19.3% year-over-year; the “Galaxy Jinyao” asset allocation scale surpassed 6.5 billion yuan, more than five times the previous year; individual pension accounts exceeded 230k, doubling; and the “Galaxy Xing’an Yang” comprehensive pension service brand exceeded 600 million yuan in scale.

The development of the investment advisory team provides talent support for the transformation. By the end of 2025, registered investment advisors reached 4,320, an increase of 264 from the previous year. This team delivers research expertise to clients via “advisory live streams,” “cloud consultation rooms,” and “advisor nationwide tours,” establishing a global research system and asset allocation framework.

In credit business, by the end of 2025, China Galaxy Securities’ margin financing and securities lending balance was 136.2 billion yuan, with an average maintenance ratio of 268%; stock pledge repurchase balance was 19.5 billion yuan, with an average performance guarantee ratio of 331%. Meanwhile, a “credit + X” business cluster is forming—using stock pledge as a pivot to facilitate cooperation with pledge clients in areas like Sci-Tech innovation bonds, cross-border M&A, and financial advisory.

International Business: Seven Years of M&A Integration and Localized Operations

China Galaxy Securities’ internationalization path differs from many other Chinese securities firms. While many choose to build teams internally or focus on mature markets, this firm adopted a “M&A integration + localized operation” approach.

In 2017, China Galaxy Securities began acquiring Malaysia United Overseas Group’s securities business; in 2018, it completed the first transfer and established a joint venture “Galaxy–UOB”; after full ownership was achieved in 2023, it renamed the entity “Galaxy Overseas” in 2024. This was China’s first cross-border M&A project in ASEAN’s core region, with a clear strategic intent: by controlling a local broker with over 40 years of history and operations across more than ten Southeast Asian countries, it quickly gained market access, client base, and professional teams.

Seven years later, the market results of this strategy are reflected in the 2025 annual report. According to disclosures, Galaxy Overseas maintained its brokerage leadership in key Southeast Asian markets, ranking first in Singapore, second in Malaysia, fifth in Thailand, and sixth in Indonesia by trading volume. In investment banking, it completed 71 equity and debt financing transactions totaling 4.7 billion SGD. These figures demonstrate that Galaxy Overseas has deeply embedded itself in local markets, becoming a mainstream participant.

During the integration process, China Galaxy Securities chose to retain and empower local teams. Galaxy Overseas CEO Carol Fong has been with UOB for over 20 years, and the heads of its four core markets are experienced Southeast Asian professionals. In 2025, Galaxy Overseas, as the only Chinese financial institution, co-hosted high-level forums such as the “First Malaysia Economic Forum” and the “2025 ASEAN Investment Forum.” Its local operation capabilities have earned it multiple international awards, including “Best Southeast Asian Broker” from Alpha Southeast Asia, “Best Southeast Asian Broker” from FinanceAsia, and “Best Local Broker” from Asian Financial.

While maintaining local operations of its overseas subsidiaries, China Galaxy Securities also strengthened collaboration through mechanisms like monthly onshore-offshore meetings. In 2025, Galaxy International Holdings’ IPO sponsorship scale entered the top ten in Hong Kong for the first time, ranking fourth among Chinese firms by project count; offshore bond issuance ranked fifth. Cross-border business saw the first gold trading deal, with transaction volume and varieties doubling, and the firm obtained the first “Southbound Connect” business qualification.

The operation of Hainan Free Trade Port’s customs closure provides a new strategic foothold for international business. The annual report states that China Galaxy Securities and Hainan Financial Group jointly launched a construction investment fund for the free trade port with an initial scale of 10 billion yuan, which has recently expanded to 20 billion yuan. By the end of 2025, the sub-funds under this fund reached a total scale of 20.9 billion yuan. It also helped the Hainan provincial government issue 13 billion yuan of offshore RMB local government bonds in Hong Kong and launched the first cross-border carbon emission rights swap (TRS) product in China to address EU carbon tariffs.

From the information disclosed in the annual report, Galaxy Overseas and Galaxy International Holdings are forming synergistic effects. In 2025, cross-border integration of wealth management by Galaxy International Holdings achieved new breakthroughs, including the first full discretionary account; asset management successfully issued its first public fund. Meanwhile, China Galaxy Securities and Galaxy Overseas jointly established a proprietary trading desk, leveraging global investment perspectives and Belt and Road expertise to create new revenue growth engines.

For China Galaxy Securities, which has completed its three-year strategic cycle, the rise in investment banking rankings, deepening of wealth management transformation, and differentiated international layout together form a new business map. In this map, the traditional brokerage-dominated image is being rewritten, and a new growth logic is taking shape.

This article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice.