Hong Kong authorities raid Chinese brokers Citic, Guotai

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong authorities raided the offices of Citic Securities’ local unit and Guotai Junan International Holdings, according to people familiar with the matter, marking a high-profile escalation of scrutiny into the city’s financial sector.

Authorities on Tuesday (Mar 10) raided the firms’ equity capital markets divisions and took at least one senior executive away for questioning, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.

The Securities and Futures Commission declined to comment, while the Independent Commission Against Corruption did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Officials at Citic could not immediately be reached for a comment. Guotai Junan was not immediately available to comment.

The raid comes amid a significant resurgence in Hong Kong’s capital markets. Over the past year, the city has seen a spike in trading and a wave of multi-billion-US dollar initial public offerings.

While the specific nature of the probe remains unclear, authorities have intensified their focus on investment practices. Their cases include one against hedge fund firm Segantii Capital Management over alleged insider trading.

The anti-corruption body last year charged a former staffer at the Hong Kong stock exchange for allegedly accepting bribes linked to a suspected insider trading case.

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Regulators have also warned brokerages across Hong Kong of filing sloppy IPO applications amid a listings boom. The city was the top destination worldwide for IPOs in 2025 and is off to its busiest-ever start to a year for new listings. BLOOMBERG