(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-10 09:36

Orient Securities Co and Everbright Securities Co, China's 10th and 13th biggest brokers by assets, are preparing to sell stock to the public, the two companies said in separate statements in the Oriental Morning Post.

The two brokerages have begun training each other on the procedures for preparing an initial public offering, Orient and Everbright said in separate statements published on Saturday in the Shanghai-based newspaper.

China's domestic brokerages need to raise funds through equity offerings to open branches, hire traders and prepare for trading in stock index futures in a market that's gained 85 percent this year, according to Bloomberg News. They also want to boost capital ahead of a December deadline when the government allows overseas brokers to compete unimpeded in China.

Everbright's first-half profit increased almost nine-fold to 3.25 billion yuan (US$427 million), according to the Oriental Morning Post.

Orient Securities' first-quarter profit surpassed 500 million yuan, the newspaper reported yesterday, without giving comparative figures.

The investment banks arranging the initial public offerings were not identified.