Chinese securities brokers earn less in punishing 2018

BEIJING - Securities brokerage firms listed in China saw sharp declines in revenues and profits in 2018, a brutal year during which the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plunged over 24 percent, the China Securities Journal reported Tuesday.

Total revenues of all 34 listed brokers slid roughly 14 percent to 165.38 billion yuan ($24.5 billion), the report said, citing the paper's own calculation based on quarterly and monthly reports from the companies.

Only three of them saw revenues up from a year earlier.

Combined profits plummeted 27.19 percent to 55.81 billion yuan, with only two companies seeing profits higher than 2017, while another two suffering losses.

CITIC Securities, Guotai Junan Securities and Haitong Securities were the top three in terms of revenue and profit size.

In 2018, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plunged 24.59 percent, while the Shenzhen Component Index dived 34.42 percent.