China's CITIC, Unfazed by Bear, Still Looking Abroad

By Langi Chiang and Xie Heng

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's CITIC Securities (600030.SS), fresh from the collapse of a deal to invest in Bear Stearns BSC.N, said on Wednesday it still intended to expand abroad, potentially by teaming up with foreign investment banks.

The firm on Tuesday said it had decided to terminate its planned strategic cooperation with Bear Stearns BSC.N, which was heavily battered by the unfolding subprime crisis and was taken over on Sunday by JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N). (For details double click [nSHA43847] or [nL177697])

In a presentation to investors and reporters, board secretary Tan Ning said that CITIC Securities would have to expand internationally in order to serve its clients well.

"It is a definite choice, no matter whether it's for the purpose of countering economic cycles or responding to the entry of foreign brokers into China," Tan said.

"We must have an international vision, an internationalised network, and an internationalised business to support our services to our clients."

In the text of his presentation, Tan noted that CITIC, China's biggest listed brokerage, was looking to cooperate with foreign investment banks and to carry out "overseas capital operations" in the future.

He did not say whether that would take the form of selling a stake in itself or engaging in a similar share swap to the one it had initially agreed with Bear Stearns.

Cheng Boming, deputy manager of CITIC Securities, said the firm's Hong Kong unit would do acquisitions to expand into sectors other than investment banking, broking and futures.

The Hong Kong unit would serve as the main platform for expanding overseas, Cheng said.

"We want to expand overseas, including in terms of products, business lines and setting up subsidiaries. This is a long-term process," he said.

He said the Hong Kong unit had contributed more than 1 percent of the company's net profit in 2007, and that the firm hoped to gradually increase the proportion of revenue coming from outside China.

Cheng added that two mutual funds run by CITIC Securities -- CITIC Funds and China AMC -- would be merged, and that the brokerage was looking to sell off part of its stake in the combined fund.

CITIC Securities said last October that a planned $1 billion in Bear Stearns would later convert into about 6 percent of the New York-based investment bank.

CITIC Securities' parent company, CITIC Group, is directly led and controlled by the State Council, China's cabinet.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)