China Southern Securities Co Ltd, once the country's fifth-largest brokerage, has been declared bankrupt after years of struggle, making it the country's largest securities bankruptcy case.

 

"The move is part of China's efforts to clean up the securities brokerage sector," He Yuanyuan, an analyst with CITIC China Securities, told China Daily.

 

China Southern Securities' debts exceeded its assets by 12.2 billion yuan (US$1.53 billion), the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court stated in its ruling on Wednesday.

 

According to an audit report by accounting firm Deloitte, China Southern Securities' total debts reached 22.8 billion yuan (US$2.85 billion) by the end of last year, while its total assets were 10.6 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion).

 

The Shenzhen Lanbowan Investment Co took China Southern Securities to court on July 7, asking the brokerage to pay back its overdue 30 million yuan (US$3.75 million) debt.

 

"The bankruptcy and clearing helps to protect the interests of investors and creditors," said Guo Yimin, deputy dean of the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. "This move also rings an alarm bell for securities firms to strengthen their corporate governance and risk management."

 

Industry sources disclosed that clauses on the closure of securities firms have been included in a draft law on bankruptcy to standardize the practice. And now all legal and technical hurdles for the bankruptcy of brokerages have been cleared.

 

China Southern Securities is the second Shenzhen brokerage to be declared bankrupt after mid-sized Eagle Securities went bust in January.

 

"The closing down of China Southern Securities is not a surprise since it has been an empty shell after China Jianyin Investment (JIC) took over the company last August," said He Yuanyuan, adding bankruptcy is a must to clear up its debts.

 

JIC is a spin-off from the China Construction Bank designed to take charge of the State-owned lender's non-banking business. After the acquisition, China Jianyin Investment Securities emerged and has become the fourth-largest brokerage in Shenzhen.

 

Established in 1992, China Southern Securities used to be a heavyweight in the sector. It increased its registered capital from 1 billion yuan (US$125 million) to 3.45 billion yuan (US$425.4 million) in 2002.

 

But due to poor management and embezzlement of a substantial amount of capital, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and the local government took it over at the beginning of 2004 before announcing its closure in April 2005.

 

The central government injected 8 billion yuan (US$1 billion) into the debt-ridden trading house early last year when it was revealed that it had misappropriated 8 billion yuan (US$1 billion) of clients' money. But the efforts failed to revive the brokerage.

 

Since 2005, the industry watchdog has been reshuffling the securities sector, which had been in the doldrums for four years.

 

But most of China's 130 securities firms have bounced back this year due to the strong stock market rebound.

 

The benchmark Shanghai composite index has risen 60 percent since the start of the year, helped by the non-tradable shares reform and new initial public offerings. Experts estimate the revenue of most securities firms will double this year.

 

(China Daily August 18, 2006)