BEIJING, April 28 -- CITIC Securities Co. Ltd., the first brokerage to go public on the mainland, said Thursday its first-quarter net profit jumped 11-fold, buoyed by a stock market rebound and its own expansion.

    CITIC Securities, the brokerage arm of China's largest financial conglomerate, CITIC Group, posted a net profit of 94.27 million yuan (US$12 million) for the January-March quarter, up from 8.27 million in the same period of 2005.

    "A warming stock market has created a better business environment for our company," the brokerage said in its quarterly results report.

    "Our company's acquisitions in other brokerages, such as an increased stake in Wantong Securities, has allowed us to expand business outlets."

    CITIC Securities had also teamed up with Jianyin Investment Co., a unit of China's top property lender, Construction Bank, last year to take over China Securities Co., which is also known in Chinese as Huaxia Securities.

    CITIC Securities' turnover expanded by more than seven times to 439.04 million yuan in the first three months, buoyed by an 11.8 percent rise in China's key stock index during the quarter.

    The firm also attributed the large rise in profits to strong demand for its debt-issuing services, as more Chinese corporations turned to the debt market to raise funds following a suspension of new domestic initial public offerings last May.

    The brokerage is generally regarded as one of the better performers in an industry where most of roughly 100 players are losing money.

    The government is currently encouraging its healthiest brokerages to search for new revenue sources, while shutting down the poorest or forcing them to merge, with the hope of cleaning up the sector as it develops its fledgling capital markets.

    (Source: Shenzhen Daily/ Agencies)