China Orient Taps Brokerage Business

China Orient Asset Management Co said on Friday that it had started operating a securities unit, becoming the first state bad-debt manager to tap underwriting and brokerage businesses.

Dongxing Securities Co was opened on Thursday, China Orient said in a Website statement. The stock house was revamped from Fujian Province-based Minfa Securities Co taken over in 2004. Dongxing, which has 48 outlets nationwide, will conduct securities underwriting, brokerage and investment consulting businesses. It will tap resource and talent advantages of China Orient, the statement said.

China Orient owns 99.73 percent of Dongxing, which has a registered capital of 1.504 billion yuan (US$215 million). The remaining minority stakes are held by Aluminum Corp of China Shanghai and Dasheng Asset Management Co, the statement said. 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.

The AMCs started last year to transform themselves into financial groups after largely wrapping up bad loans at the lenders.

''Dongxing doesn't have network advantages but has support by state-owned China Orient, which has good relationships with domestic financial firms,'' said Wu Ke, a Zhongtian Investment Consulting Co. ''The focus will likely be institutional investors and investment banking.''

Industry sources said earlier that China Orient had based the headquarters of Dongxing's investment banking sector in Shanghai and has started a big recruiting campaign.

Source: CRIEnglish