Transcript! CITIC Securities Chairman responds to M&A restructuring trends, proprietary trading details, and investment banking strategy

On the morning of October 27, CITIC Securities held a third-quarter performance briefing.

As of the end of September 2025, CITIC Securities had total assets of 2.03 trillion yuan; the net asset scale attributable to shareholders reached 315 billion yuan.

In the first three quarters of 2025, the company achieved operating income of 55.815 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.70%; it realized a net profit attributable to shareholders of 23.159 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37.86%, achieving the best operating performance in history.

At this briefing attended by Chairman Zhang Youjun, General Manager Zou Yingguang, and other executives, the management of CITIC Securities responded to many hot topics raised by Wall Street, including trends in mergers and acquisitions, wealth management transformation, and strategic priorities in investment banking.

Zhi Shi Tang has organized the content of this briefing as follows for readers.

Response to Mergers and Acquisitions Trends

CITIC Securities Chairman Zhang Youjun pointed out: In March 2024, the China Securities Regulatory Commission clearly proposed to "support leading institutions in optimizing and strengthening through mergers and acquisitions, organizational innovation, and other means," with the goal of "forming 2 to 3 investment banks and investment institutions with international competitiveness and market leadership by 2035."

We understand that mergers and acquisitions can effectively integrate market resources, rapidly expand the company's scale, achieve complementary business advantages, and enhance the company's business capabilities and market competitiveness. This is an important way for securities companies to optimize and strengthen, and an effective path to build first-class investment banks and investment institutions. In the future, we will continue to maintain a strategic balance between endogenous development and external growth, consolidate our leading position in the domestic market, expand and strengthen our international business, and accelerate the construction of first-class investment banks and investment institutions.

Investment Portfolio Configuration Details

Ms. Xi Zhiying, head of the accounting department at CITIC Securities, revealed: The company's securities investment business adheres to a customer demand-driven asset allocation concept and a prudent asset allocation style, with the main holdings being financing-type, fixed-income, and client demand-hedging stocks, resulting in a good overall asset allocation effect.

Wealth Management Transformation

The Chinese wealth management market is booming, and the vast customer market and emerging business opportunities in wealth management are our greatest confidence and support for firmly pursuing the path of wealth management transformation.

In the future, CITIC Securities will focus on the following areas: First, to build a comprehensive financial product system and establish core wealth allocation capabilities and models. As one of the first institutions in the industry to provide wealth allocation services to clients, CITIC Securities has established a multi-level buy-side advisory allocation service system, providing wealth allocation services that cover all asset segments and all clients starting from 10,000 yuan.

Second, to deliver comprehensive financial service capabilities. CITIC Securities' wealth management is based on the company's institutional client service gene, coordinating the service advantages of investment banking, asset management, trading, and other fields, and integrating the high-quality resources of CITIC Group's full financial licenses to connect the value chain of financial institutions, building a distinctive comprehensive service capability of CITIC.

Third, to build a new type of wealth management team. CITIC Securities ranks first in the industry in the number of registered investment advisors. While implementing a talent strategy focused on investment advisory for all employees, CITIC Securities deepens the "1+1+N" service system to better provide clients with comprehensive solutions Fourth, strengthen digital service capabilities. CITIC Securities is committed to building a complete closed loop between the product end and the client end through digitalization, transforming from "doing business" to "serving clients" and even becoming "serving users."

Fifth, establish a global wealth service system. Based on its wealth management platform in Hong Kong, CITIC Securities has built wealth management platforms in Singapore and other locations to better provide global asset allocation and trading services for domestic and foreign clients, expanding the radius and connotation of international services.

Cumulative Dividends of 88.7 Billion Yuan

Since its A-share listing in 2003, CITIC Securities has continuously conducted cash dividends for 23 years, with a cumulative dividend implementation exceeding RMB 88.7 billion. In the past three years, the company's cash dividend ratio has consistently remained above 30%.

It is worth mentioning that in 2025, CITIC Securities will conduct a mid-term dividend for the second consecutive year. Compared to the mid-term of 2024, the amount distributed per 10 shares will increase from RMB 2.40 to RMB 2.90, and the total cash dividend amount will increase from RMB 3.557 billion to RMB 4.298 billion, with a year-on-year increase of over 20% in dividend amount.

Responding to Adverse Conditions in Investment Banking Business

In recent years, CITIC Securities' investment banking business has actively adapted to market changes, closely following policy guidance to adjust business direction and key work, continuously improving professional capabilities and service quality, and enhancing the ability to serve the real economy and national strategies.

Specifically, first, prioritize functionality, actively respond to national strategies, and support the development of the real economy, continuously strengthening key client services that support national technological innovation and the development of new productive forces; second, increase the exploration of incremental business, continuously strengthen innovation in various bond products, and focus on identifying the merger and acquisition needs of technology innovation enterprises, providing clients with diversified and professional financial products; third, continue to accelerate the advancement of internationalization strategies, especially leveraging the service advantages of covering Chinese clients to fully strengthen overseas business development