Key facts
- Citigroup Securities China Company will be headquartered in Shanghai.
- The unit will offer underwriting, equities brokerage, trading, research, and investment advisory services.
- Citi applied for the license in late 2021.
- The bank aims to double its headcount for the unit to around 100 people by year-end.
China's securities regulator approved Citigroup's plan on Friday to establish a wholly-owned securities unit in Shanghai, allowing the Wall Street bank to expand its presence in the world's second-largest economy. The unit, Citigroup Securities China Company, will be permitted to offer onshore capital markets services to domestic and foreign clients, including underwriting, equities brokerage, trading onshore securities, securities research, and investment advisory. Citigroup, which offers corporate, institutional, and other banking services in China, applied for the license in late 2021 as part of its push to ramp up its China onshore operations. The bank has been hiring for the business and aims to roughly double the headcount to around 100 people by the end of this year, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.