Jiang Chengjun, a former investment banking manager at Haitong Securities, was handcuffed as he was removed from a plane by police at an undisclosed airport in late August as he was returning to China on suspicion of “business-related” crimes.
Photos of his high-profile arrest were splashed across mainland Chinese media and social media platforms, and the investment banker’s steep decline stood in stark contrast to the country’s financial institutions’ high-flying international ambitions.
Haitong is one of China’s top five brokerages, but the delisting of its Hong Kong arm, Haitong International, in January has left mainland financial institutions looking to expand overseas and compete with Wall Street. The challenges faced have become clear.
Analysts say the harsh environment includes over-reliance on mainland parent companies, lack of sufficient product compliance and innovation, relatively small trading activity and weak deal-making activity in Hong Kong in recent years and intense competition. All of these factors are contributing to slowing Hong Kong’s growth. My dream is to become a world market leader.
Once dubbed the “king of Hong Kong’s IPOs” by local media, Haitong International has been weighed down by heavy losses in a volatile market in recent years.
Last year’s profits plummeted by 84.6% to 1.01 billion yuan (US$142.79 million), and it was delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January, ending its 14-year existence.
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Stock market volatility in Hong Kong and mainland China
Stock market volatility in Hong Kong and mainland China
