HK Stock Market Move | Guolian (01456) soared more than 10% in early trading, as the pace of securities mergers and acquisitions accelerated. Guolian's acquisition of Minsheng Securities has been approved.

Guolian (01456) rose more than 10% in the morning session, reaching a 10.07% increase at the time of publication, trading at 4.92 Hong Kong dollars with a turnover of 133 million Hong Kong dollars. On the news front, on December 17, the Shanghai Stock Exchange restructuring committee released the results of the 6th review meeting in 2024, announcing that Guolian's issuance of A shares to purchase 99.26% of Minsheng Securities' shares and raise additional funds had been approved by the Shanghai Stock Exchange restructuring committee. It is reported that on September 27, Guolian's acquisition of Minsheng Securities was accepted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and the approval process took less than 3 months. Guotai Junan pointed out that Minsheng Securities, as a medium-sized brokerage firm with a distinct investment banking business, is comparable in size to Guolian. It is expected that the synergy of the two companies after the merger lies in regional and operational complementarity. More importantly, by merging with Minsheng Securities, Guolian's comprehensive strength may be elevated to the top 20 in the industry, and the company's governance advantages are expected to be further enhanced, setting the stage for long-term development and adding expectations for the effectiveness of the merger.