Guotai Huatong Injects an Additional 3.5 Billion Yuan; Securities Firms Intensify Capital Increases in Subsidiaries, Diversifying Their Strategies in the Alternative Investment Sector

Since the beginning of this year, securities firms have frequently increased their capital in subsidiaries across various businesses, including futures, funds, wealth management, and international operations.

Recently, Guotai Haitong Securities announced an additional capital injection of 3.5 billion yuan into its futures subsidiary, Guotai Junan Futures. Dongwu Securities, Hu’an Securities, Guolian Minsheng Securities, Huatai Securities, and GF Securities have also intensively increased their investments in subsidiaries related to futures, funds, wealth management, and overseas businesses, continuously supplementing net capital and strengthening their business layouts.

In February, a reporter from 21st Century Business Herald reported that two regional securities firms’ capital increases to expand into the wealth management sector drew industry attention: one was Guolian Minsheng Securities’ initial capital increase into its wealth subsidiary Minsheng Securities; the other was Hu’an Securities’ capital increase to control Huafu Fund and obtain a public offering license.

In stark contrast, securities firms have become more cautious in their布局 of alternative investment subsidiaries. Several firms, including Cinda Securities, Guodu Securities, and Dongxing Securities, have reduced capital or deregistered their alternative subsidiaries. Overall industry布局 shows clear differentiation.

Industry insiders say that securities firms are “refueling” their advantageous subsidiaries like futures and wealth management to expand业务规模 and enhance service efficiency for the real economy, while also optimizing strategic布局 and strengthening业务协同. Conversely, their cautious approach to alternative investment subsidiaries reflects rational choices based on risk-return considerations, capital efficiency, and business focus adjustments, demonstrating a more focused and稳健 resource allocation in the industry.

35 Billion Yuan Increase in Futures Business

Recently, Guotai Haitong announced plans to inject 3.5 billion yuan into its subsidiary Guotai Junan Futures to replenish net capital. The board authorized management to handle the capital increase in installments based on actual funding needs.

Guotai Junan Futures, a wholly owned subsidiary of Guotai Haitong, is a leading futures company, consistently ranking in the top tier in revenue, net profit, client base, and market share over the years.

This is not the first capital increase for Guotai Junan Futures in the past year. In May 2025, the company increased capital by 1.5 billion yuan, raising its registered capital to 6 billion yuan. If the current 3.5 billion yuan is approved, the total increase within a year will reach 5 billion yuan.

A review by 21st Century Business Herald suggests three main reasons for this capital increase: first, rising regulatory thresholds for net capital—amendments to the Futures Company Supervision Measures are imminent, requiring higher net capital for market-making and OTC derivatives businesses, so the increase will help meet compliance and operational targets.

Second, consolidating industry leadership—Guotai Junan Futures’ total client权益 and market share remain industry-leading, and this capital increase will further widen the gap with competitors, reinforcing its top-tier position.

Third, strategic positioning with dual futures licenses—after integration, Guotai Haitong holds both Guotai Junan Futures and Haitong Futures licenses. The capital increase clearly designates Guotai Junan Futures as the core platform for the group’s futures业务, promoting resource集中 and业务整合.

Currently, Haitong Futures’ registered capital is only 1.302 billion yuan, far less than Guotai Junan Futures. The China Securities Regulatory Commission has stated that Haitong Futures should supervise Guotai Junan and Shanghai International Group to complete integration within the promised timeline according to submitted plans.

Besides Guotai Haitong, in December 2025, Dongwu Securities also announced a 403 million yuan capital increase into Dongwu Futures, raising its registered capital to 1.532 billion yuan. The company said this would optimize its overall业务结构 and improve capital market服务水平. Earlier, in March 2025, Orient Securities increased capital by 500 million yuan into Orient Securities Futures.

Expanding Wealth Management and Overseas Markets

Beyond futures subsidiaries, securities firms have accelerated capital increases in funds, wealth management, and international业务 since the beginning of this year.

In February, a report by 21st Century Business Herald titled “Securities Firms Accelerate Wealth Management Transformation! Guolian Minsheng and Hu’an Securities Explore Differentiated Expansion Paths” highlighted that two mid-sized regional securities firms’ capital increases into wealth management drew industry attention: Guolian Minsheng Securities (601456.SH) first increased capital into its wealth subsidiary, and Hu’an Securities (600909.SH) increased and gained control of Huafu Fund, obtaining a public offering license.

Sun Ting, chief analyst of non-bank financials at Dongwu Securities, pointed out that establishing wealth or asset management subsidiaries, or holding or participating in public funds, are important ways for securities firms to proactively enhance asset management capabilities and strengthen wealth management investment and product capabilities.

The different approaches of Guolian Minsheng Securities and Hu’an Securities reflect how each firm leverages its resources to explore differentiated wealth management transformation models.

Meanwhile, as securities firms accelerate overseas expansion and cross-border布局, increasing capital into international subsidiaries and strengthening overseas capital实力 have become common industry practices. Hong Kong, as a key hub for mainland securities firms’ internationalization, has seen increased capital injections into its Hong Kong subsidiaries, becoming a crucial step in expanding overseas业务.

Specifically, since January, two leading securities firms’ H-share refinancing has been approved, with funds supporting overseas业务 development. GF Securities raised over HKD 6 billion, all for capital injections into overseas subsidiaries; Huatai Securities raised net HKD 992.5 million, intended for overseas业务 and working capital.

In February, approvals for international (Hong Kong) subsidiaries’ capital increases and new establishments were granted. On February 10, Northeast Securities was approved to establish Dongzheng International Financial Holding Limited in Hong Kong with a HKD 500 million investment; the same day, Hu’an Securities’ wholly owned subsidiary, Hu’an Securities (Hong Kong) Financial Holding Limited, received approval for a HKD 500 million capital increase.

On February 12, Dongwu Securities’ wholly owned subsidiary, Dongwu Securities (Hong Kong) Financial Holding Limited, was approved to increase capital by up to HKD 2 billion, with funds aimed at expanding overseas业务 and markets.

Market analysts generally believe that as the pace of A-share IPOs adjusts and the activity in Hong Kong’s primary and secondary markets increases, Hong Kong is becoming an important base for mainland securities firms to develop cross-border业务 and boost performance. However, the competition landscape in Hong Kong is more diverse, with mainland subsidiaries facing not only peer competitors but also international investment banks and local Hong Kong firms, making overseas expansion increasingly competitive for Chinese firms.

Differentiation in Alternative Investment Subsidiaries

Alternative investment subsidiaries are core platforms for securities firms’ equity investments and sponsorships. Their capital movements serve as important indicators of strategic布局. Additionally, alternative investments are a significant part of securities firms’权益财富管理业务.

In recent years, the布局 of alternative investment subsidiaries has shown marked differentiation. Some firms have been reducing capital or deregistering subsidiaries, while others have increased capital or established new subsidiaries, reflecting deeper strategic resource optimization and business focus adjustments.

On the evening of March 9, Cinda Securities announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Cinda Xinrui Investment Co., Ltd., had completed deregistration. Public information shows that in the first three quarters of 2025, Cinda Xinrui incurred a net loss of 2.4697 million yuan, likely a key reason for its deregistration.

On the same evening, Guodu Securities also announced that its alternative subsidiary, Guodu Jingrui Investment (Beijing) Co., Ltd., had completed capital reduction and business registration changes, with registered capital reduced from 300 million yuan to 10 million yuan, and the company name changed accordingly. The company stated that this reduction was part of resource integration and optimization based on business development plans, aiming to improve capital efficiency and overall operational effectiveness.

Beyond Cinda and Guodu, a partial review by 21st Century Business Herald indicates that since 2025, many securities firms, mainly small- and medium-sized, have been adjusting their alternative subsidiaries’ capital, including Dongxing Securities, Zhongshan Securities, Zhongyuan Securities, and Northeast Securities.

However, the industry’s布局 in alternative investments is not solely shrinking. Many firms are actively increasing capital or establishing new subsidiaries to seize market opportunities.

In October 2025, Guohai Securities announced a plan to inject 500 million yuan into its alternative subsidiary, Guohai Securities Investment Co., Ltd., raising its registered capital to 1.5 billion yuan to enhance capital strength and core competitiveness. In November, Jinyuan Unified Securities was approved to establish a subsidiary engaged in alternative investments, focusing on participation in ChiNext, STAR Market, Beijing Stock Exchange projects, and equity investments in Taiwanese-controlled enterprises.

Additionally, firms like Caitong Securities and Century Securities have also increased capital or established new subsidiaries in 2025 to expand their alternative investment业务, with Zhongtai Securities and Nanjing Securities explicitly planning to allocate funds to support related业务 development.

Industry insiders note that the资本布局 of alternative subsidiaries shows clear differentiation, driven by each firm’s capital capacity, market environment, and regulatory guidance. For firms reducing or deregistering subsidiaries, the main reasons include underperformance, lower-than-expected project收益, longer退出周期, and new requirements under the Company Law for registered capital and net capital监管, leading to a preference for focusing resources on core业务.

Conversely, leading and some特色券商 are actively increasing capital and establishing new subsidiaries, seeing long-term opportunities in equity investments and participation in the STAR and ChiNext markets. They aim to enhance投研 and project operation能力, build差异化竞争力, and achieve synergy between alternative investments and investment banking业务.