Orient Securities' IPO may raise US$1.6b

Chinese brokerage firm Orient Securities has priced its initial public offering.

The company says it's hoping to raise more than 1.6 billion U.S. dollars in its listing in Shanghai.

This would make the biggest IPO in Shanghai since 2011.

Orient Securities says it want to use the money to expand its operations.

Orient Securities is a unit of Citigroup.

Brokerages such as Orient have seen their profits double in recent weeks, with retail investor numbers on the rise following the PBOC's interest rate cut in November.