China’s 150 Securities Firms Post 31% First-Half Revenue Growth

What changed

China’s 150 securities firms generated 3,298 billion yuan in revenue in the first half of 2026, up about 31% from a year earlier. Net profit rose 23% to 1,387 billion yuan.

Self-operated trading remained the largest revenue source, while brokerage, investment banking, asset management and credit businesses all grew. Chinese firms are also moving from establishing overseas footholds to building deeper operations through Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

Why it matters

This is more than a strong six-month scorecard. It suggests China’s securities industry is becoming a broader financial bridge: helping Chinese companies seek financing abroad while giving global investors channels into Chinese assets.

That shift is visible in the industry’s longer arc. Over 20 years, total assets rose from 0.67 trillion yuan to 14.83 trillion yuan, while revenue moved away from heavy dependence on brokerage toward a more balanced mix of businesses.

The more useful reading is that the industry’s overseas push is entering its execution phase. If that expansion continues, competition will increasingly depend on how well firms serve companies and investors across borders, not simply on domestic trading activity.

The figures still leave an important question open: how much of the first-half growth came from market conditions and how much from the structural expansion of these businesses.