PEREGRINE Brokerage and a broking arm of the Bank of East Asia have been granted special B-share seats on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and five more foreign brokerages are also eyeing the $1 million seats.
The addition of the two firms brings the number of overseas brokerages on the Shenzhen exchange to 10, although only five have traders on the trading floor.
Exchange deputy chief executive Yu Guogang said in Hong Kong yesterday the offers to Peregrine and Tung Shing Securities, wholly owned by Bank of East Asia, had been made on Tuesday.
Another exchange official said five other foreign brokerages were also seeking seats to trade B shares directly in Shenzhen, but would not provide their names.
Baring Securities (Hong Kong) is understood to be one of them.
Eight overseas brokerages began direct trade in Shenzhen last Friday, a day which saw total B-share turnover surge 14-fold.
