Two domestic brokerages will form private equity investment units, joining other Chinese brokerages in tapping this segment of the market.

China Merchants Securities Co has formed a 100 million yuan (US$14.64 million) unit to invest in domestic companies ahead of their initial public offerings, according to a statement on its Website.

The unit will focus on manufacturing, healthcare, energy-saving, new energy, media and modern agriculture industries.

China Galaxy Securities also said it has received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the market regulator, to set up a wholly owned unit with a registered capital of 1 billion yuan to deal in private equity investment.

"The license will help broaden our development space, increase revenue source as well as diversify our profit mode," China Galaxy said.

So far the CSRC has approved a total of 15 Chinese brokerages, including China CITIC Securities, Guoyuan Securities and Changjiang Securities, to set up PE units with a total of more than 10 billion yuan available for investment.

The CSRC in May lowered the threshold for local brokerages to deal in PE investments to encourage more funds into the market and to help brokers to better compete with overseas rivals.

(Shanghai Daily September 8, 2009)