RPT-China's Guotai Junan eyes Europe expansion, forex trade

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HONG KONG, July 8 (Reuters) - Guotai Junan International Holdings (1788.HK), the global arm of one of China's top brokerages, will explore a European expansion and foreign exchange trading as it seeks new growth areas this year, its chief executive said.

The euro zone crisis and the subsequent drop in asset and equity prices had made the continent an attractive place in which to invest, Yim Fung, chief executive of Guotai Junan, said in an interview on Thursday.

"I believe Europe has hit a bottom and everything is so cheap now," Yim told Reuters. "Look, this suit I'm wearing cost me only HK$2,000 in London. If I'd bought it in Hong Kong it'd have cost me at least HK$10,000."

Guotai Junan, which debuted on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday in a $300 million IPO, says it is the first Chinese brokerage to list on the territory's main board. Its shares fell more than 3 percent to close at $4.14, versus an offer price of HK$4.30. (Reporting by Kelvin Soh and Clare Jim; Editing by Chris Lewis)