Top Biz News

TEDA moves ahead on financial group

(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-10-10 10:34

Tianjin TEDA Co, the listed arm of a state-funded investment conglomerate, has gained regulatory approval to buy a majority stake in Bohai Securities Co as part of its parent's ambition to forge a financial group.

TEDA Co's proposal to acquire 26.9 percent of Bohai Securities for 600 million yuan (US$76 million) was approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the listed company said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange yesterday.

TEDA Investment Holding Co, the public firm's parent and a unit under the Tianjin municipal government, will also inject 300 million yuan into Bohai, giving the group 40 percent control in the broker.

Bohai Securities was established in 2001 through the merger of brokerage units of four Tianjin-based trust firms and former Tianjin Securities Co, according to its Website.

The latest funding infusions, which also include 400 million yuan from the Tianjin government, will raise the firm's registered capital to 2.23 billion yuan from 930 million yuan.

Shares of TEDA Co closed at 7.21 yuan yesterday, up 8.58 percent from a session earlier. For the year, shares have soared 210 percent, compared with a 61 percent rise in the benchmark Shenzhen Composite Index.

China is on track to set up a new economic zone in the city of Tianjin, hoping to take advantage of its harbors and convenient transport to inland cities, including Beijing.

TEDA Investment, set up in December 2001, is tasked with managing assets of most large state-owned companies in Tianjin.

The firm holds nearly 50 billion yuan in assets and invests in 200-odd enterprises in industries covering finance, energy, property, hotels and transport.

Northern International Trust & Investment Co, a trust arm that falls under TEDA Investment, bought 51 percent of a fund venture from the troubled Xiangcai Securities Co in April, officials said.