CITIC Securities

CITIC Securities Co., Ltd.
Company type	Public company
Industry	Investment banking, financial services
Founded	1995
Headquarters	Shenzhen, China
Area served	China
Products	Underwriting, brokerage, asset management, wealth management, investment advisory, research
Parent	CITIC Group
Website	www.cs.ecitic.com

CITIC Securities Co., Ltd. is a comprehensive Chinese investment bank providing services such as underwriting, brokerage, asset management, wealth management, investment advisory, and research. Established in 1995 with its main office located in Shenzhen, it is recognized as one of the top four securities firms in China alongside Guotai Junan Securities, GF Securities, and Haitong Securities as of mid-2020.

Listing

CITIC Securities () began trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on January 6, 2003, followed by its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange () on October 6, 2011.

Awards

The year 2011 saw CITIC Securities honored with numerous industry awards, including "Best Equity House in China" and "Best Broker in China" from FinanceAsia, "China Equity House" by IFR Asia, and "Most Innovative Investment Bank from Asia" from The Banker. Additionally, its research division secured the "Best Local Research Team" title from New Fortune for six years running.

Acquisitions

In July 2012, CITIC Securities completed the acquisition of Crédit Agricole’s Asian brokerage and research business CLSA for $1.25 billion, initially acquiring a 19.9% share for $310.3 million with plans to purchase the remaining 80.1% for $941.7 million.

By August 2015, CITIC Securities was engaged in advanced negotiations to acquire US-based asset manager Russell Investments from the London Stock Exchange Group; however, talks were halted due to investigations involving company executives. Eventually, Russell Investments was sold to private equity firm TA Associates for $1.15 billion, which was lower than CITIC's $1.8 billion bid.

Legal investigation

Reports surfaced in August 2015 indicating that multiple CITIC Securities executives were under investigation for possible misconduct. The CEO came under suspicion by September for allegedly leaking insider information and trading based on it. In December, the heads of both investment banking and overseas investment banking divisions were reportedly detained to assist with inquiries related to insider trading and information leaks.

CITIC CEFC bond default

In November 2016, CITIC CLSA acted as sole bookrunner for CEFC Shanghai’s $250 million bond issuance but failed to disclose that only 60% of the bonds were subscribed at pricing. CITIC CLSA then manipulated prices in the secondary market to sell $100 million worth of bonds it held on its balance sheet.

By May 2018, CITIC Group committed to repaying roughly €450 million owed by CEFC Europe to J&T but did not meet the repayment deadline. Following this, J&T assumed shareholder control and implemented crisis management at CEFC Europe. Shortly thereafter, CEFC Shanghai defaulted on $327 million in bond payments and proposed settling six months after maturity.

In October 2020, retail investors holding CEFC bonds in Hong Kong lodged a complaint with the Securities and Futures Commission against CITIC CLSA as the sole underwriter of these bonds.

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