by Selena Li and Engen Tham

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Credit Suisse and one of its partners are looking for buyers for their securities brokerage business in China due to the Swiss group’s takeover by rival UBS, two people with knowledge of the matter said. .

Citigroup had once expressed interest in acquiring Credit Suisse Securities China (CSS), they added.

Citi, whose chief executive Jane Fraser was in China this week, is setting up a stock brokerage firm in China.

The group had hoped to accelerate its development through an acquisition, but decided to stick to its original plan and focus on internal growth, one of the sources said.

UBS already owns a stock brokerage firm in China, in which it owns the majority of shares. According to Chinese securities regulations, the same entity cannot hold two majority-owned brokerage licenses.

Credit Suisse owns 51% of CSS and struck a deal to buy out its partner Founder Securities last year. This transaction must still receive the approval of the Chinese authorities.

UBS and a spokesperson for Credit Suisse and CSS declined to comment. Citi declined to comment.

Neither Founder Securities nor the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) immediately responded to a request for comment.

(Report Selena Li in Hong Kong and Engen Tham in Shanghai; Camille Raynaud)

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