In 2025, CITIC and China International Capital Corporation lead the investment banking sector, while Guolian and Minsheng make a comeback; Chinese-funded securities firms dominate the Hong Kong stock market.

Ask AI · What is the driving force behind the growth of small and medium-sized brokerages’ counterattack?

Jiemian News Reporter | Chen Jing

The annual reports of listed brokerages for 2025 are being gradually disclosed. As of April 2, 25 brokerages have completed disclosures, accounting for over half. Against the backdrop of steadily increasing activity in the capital market, the 2025 annual reports of listed brokerages are full of highlights.

Brokerage investment banking business has always attracted much attention. Choice Financial Terminal shows that in 2025, the net income from investment banking fees displays a clear tiered differentiation. CITIC Securities (600030.SH) remains at the top with 6.34B yuan, China International Capital Corporation (601995.SH) (5.03B yuan), and Guotai Haitong (601211.SH) (4.66B yuan) follow closely, forming the first tier with over 4 billion yuan; CITIC Construction Investment (601066.SH) (3.13B yuan) and Huatai Securities (601688.SH) (3.1B yuan) make up the second tier, with a significant gap compared to leading brokerages.

Shenwan Hongyuan Securities (000166.SZ) (1.22B yuan), China Merchants Securities (600999.SH) (1.03B yuan), GF Securities (000776.SZ) (884 million yuan), and China Galaxy Securities (601881.SH) (830 million yuan) are in the third tier, with income scales vastly different from top-tier brokerages. Notably, the “dark horse” in investment banking, Guolian Minsheng (601456.SH), achieved 898 million yuan in investment banking net income, surpassing GF Securities and China Galaxy Securities, becoming a representative of small and medium-sized brokerages breaking through.

In terms of performance growth rate, small and medium-sized brokerages far outperform top-tier brokerages. Among the eight brokerages with over 50% year-over-year growth in net income from investment banking fees in 2025, small and medium-sized brokerages such as Hu’an Securities (600909.SH), Southwest Securities (600369.SH), and Guohai Securities (000750.SZ) occupy five seats. Hongta Securities (601236.SH) leads the entire industry with a 232% increase, and Guolian Minsheng also reaches a 165% increase.

Among top-tier brokerages, China International Capital Corporation’s investment banking business saw the highest growth at 63%, with investment banking revenue of 5.03B yuan, accounting for 16% of total revenue, becoming a core growth point. The other leading brokerages also saw significant increases: Guotai Haitong 59.39%, CITIC Securities 52.35%, Huatai Securities 47.8%, China Galaxy 36.82%, CITIC Construction Investment 25.65%, Shenwan Hongyuan 24.33%, China Merchants Securities 20.01%, GF Securities 13.60%.

In contrast, five brokerages—Founder Securities (601901.SH), Everbright Securities (601788.SH), Industrial Securities (601377.SH), Zhongtai Securities (600918.SH), and Zhongyuan Securities (601375.SH)—experienced declines in investment banking business. Zhongyuan Securities saw the largest drop of 57%, with only 24 million yuan in net income from investment banking for the year.

2025 is a critical year for deepening reforms in the capital market. Regulators, taking the reform of the Sci-Tech Innovation Board and ChiNext as the focus, promote the integration of technological and industrial innovation. Choice Financial Terminal data shows that throughout the year, the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing stock exchanges accepted a total of 300 IPO companies, a clear rebound compared to 2024, but only about 43% of the 2023 total (696 companies).

From the perspective of listed sectors, the Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE) has become the first choice for companies preparing to go public, with 176 new acceptances, accounting for 59%. The Sci-Tech Innovation Board and ChiNext, as core boards for technological innovation, accepted 48 and 44 companies respectively, each accounting for less than 16%. The trend of project resources concentrating among top players is becoming more evident. In 2025, only 41 brokerages had IPO projects accepted, with the top five brokerages’ project totals accounting for over 45% of the total accepted projects, further increasing industry concentration.

Guotai Haitong led with 36.5 sponsored projects (including 0.5 joint sponsorships), slightly ahead of CITIC Securities with 35.5. The project structures of these two top brokerages differ significantly: Guotai Haitong’s 21 projects are concentrated on the BSE, accounting for nearly 60% of its total accepted projects; CITIC Securities’ 23.5 projects focus on the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets, making up 66%. Since IPO projects in Shanghai and Shenzhen generally have higher underwriting and sponsorship fees than those on the BSE, if all projects are listed, CITIC Securities’ underwriting and sponsorship fee income will maintain an advantage.

CITIC Construction Investment, China International Capital Corporation, and Huatai United Securities rank third to fifth with 25.5, 23, and 17 projects respectively, with top brokerages firmly controlling core project resources.

In 2025, the Hong Kong stock market became a “harvest field” for leading brokerages, with Chinese investment banks gradually replacing foreign ones to become the core force in the Hong Kong IPO market.

CITIC Securities performed outstandingly, securing 51 Hong Kong IPO projects and 32 Hong Kong refinancing projects throughout the year. Its equity financing underwriting scale in Hong Kong reached $7.55B, including flagship projects such as the second-largest Hong Kong IPO Zijin Gold International (02259.HK), the third-largest IPO Sany Heavy Industry (06031.HK), and the largest refinancing BYD placement.

China International Capital Corporation underwrote 41 Hong Kong IPO projects, including major projects for CATL, Seres, Sanhua Intelligent Controls, and Huitian Flavoring, with a total underwriting scale of $7.9 billion. Both the number of projects and underwriting scale increased by over 100% compared to 2024.

In terms of market share, Chinese brokerages’ dominant position remains stable. Choice Financial Terminal shows that in 2025, among Hong Kong IPO sponsors, based on listing date, China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong, CITIC Securities Hong Kong, Huatai Financial, and CITIC Lianong secured 42, 33, 22, and 20 deals respectively, with market shares of 15.97%, 12.55%, 8.37%, and 7.6%; CITIC Construction Investment secured 7 deals, with a market share of 2.66%.

Since 2026, the hot trend in Hong Kong stocks has continued. In the first quarter, 40 companies listed on HKEX, raising a total of HKD 109.93B, with significant year-over-year increases. Companies like Desai Biotech (02526.HK) and Jishi Jiao (06636.HK) listed simultaneously, with some projects exclusively sponsored by Chinese brokerages, further strengthening the international competitiveness of Chinese investment banks.

Chen Li, a member of the China Chief Economist Forum, told Jiemian News that this year, companies achieving A+H listings in Hong Kong are characterized by large scale and high quality. With the continued deepening of the interconnection between the two capital markets and the ongoing improvement of listing rules and regulatory coordination, these companies can integrate capital and industrial resources from both regions, empowering their global expansion and enhancing their international influence. Meanwhile, the industry structure of A+H listed entities is undergoing profound adjustments, gradually shifting from traditional manufacturing to high-end manufacturing, semiconductors, new energy, and other strategic emerging industries. This trend aligns precisely with the development trend of domestic economic transformation and upgrading.

Regarding the total IPO issuance in 2026, industry analysts generally believe that the market will continue to control the issuance pace, and the overall issuance scale is likely to remain roughly the same as in 2025. Furthermore, Jiemian News was further informed by China Merchants Securities that with the official implementation of the “14th Five-Year Plan,” reforms in the capital market will continue to deepen and take effect, and the A-share IPO market is expected to remain active throughout the year, with a more stable growth rhythm and a structural optimization characterized by “steady volume and improved quality.”