<article>Citic Securities Ltd., which bought CLSA Ltd. three years ago for about $1.2 billion, considered selling the Hong Kong-based brokerage earlier this year, people with knowledge of the matter said.</article>

Citic Securities Ltd., which bought CLSA Ltd. three years ago for about $1.2 billion, considered selling the Hong Kong-based brokerage earlier this year, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Citic Securities isn’t currently pursuing a sale, in part because executives didn’t think they would get an attractive price, according to the people. The state-controlled firm didn’t want to sell CLSA at a loss, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
The acquisition of CLSA, known for its independent and sometimes irreverent research, ushered in an era of overseas expansion for Chinese securities firms. Yet analysts said at the time that integrating a company with a markedly different culture could prove a challenge for Beijing-based Citic Securities.
“The rumor has no basis,” a Hong Kong-based representative for Citic Securities International Co., which owns 100 percent of CLSA, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “Our business integration and cooperation with CLSA have achieved and will continue to demonstrate good momentum.”
Brokerages have suffered in the past two years as stock market turmoil put pressure on commissions. In early 2015, CLSA cut about 25 jobs in Asia, mainly in equities, a person with knowledge said at the time. Citic Securities said last month that first-half profit dropped 58 percent to 5.24 billion yuan ($785 million) as trading volumes slumped.
Bloomberg

Citic Securities said to have mulled selling CLSA brokerage unit

Citic Securities said to have mulled selling CLSA brokerage unit

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Citic Securities said to have mulled selling CLSA brokerage unit

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