CITIC Securities becomes world's 4th brokerage  

中信证券市值居全球券商第四

(ECNS) -- The market value of CITIC Securities increased to 360.8 billion yuan ($58.25 billion) as of Wednesday's close of China's bullish A-share market, ranking the brokerage fourth in the world after Goldman Sachs, UBS Securities and Morgan Stanley.

The company saw its share increase by 124.32 percent from November 11 to December 18, including four halts to trading when prices rocketed beyond first-day gain limits.

CITIC Securities has also surpassed Nomura Securities to become the largest brokerage in Asia.

However, in terms of revenue and profit, the Chinese brokerage lags far behind international giants. Goldman Sachs reported net revenues of $34.21 billion and net earnings of $8.04 billion for the year ending December 31, 2013, while CITIC Securities collected net revenues of $2.56 billion. Its net earnings of $832 million was only ten percent that of Goldman Sachs.

Insiders warn that rapid brokerage growth might not be sustainable as the A-share market cannot continue its bullish run indefinitely.

"CITIC Securities has a high asset valuation, but the bubble is more apparent," an insider told National Business Daily.