ORIENT Securities Co., the joint venture partner of a Citigroup Inc. unit, plans to raise 10 billion yuan (US$1.59 billion) in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

    Orient Securities plans to issue up to 1 billion shares and the funds will be used for working capital purposes and expand business, among other things.

    Orient Securities’ IPO was one of 24 deals approved by the securities regulator, which is stepping up the pace of listings in China in an effort to cool down the red-hot stock markets.

    Brokerages like Orient Securities have seen profits double as retail investor numbers jump and trading volumes soar, spurred by the central bank’s surprise interest rate cut in November.

    Volumes have also been boosted by the stock connect program, which opened the same month, allowing direct trading of Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks on each other’s bourses.

    Orient Securities set up a joint venture brokerage, Citi Orient Securities Co., with Shanghai-Citigroup Global Markets Asia in 2011, according to the joint venture’s official website.

    Citi Orient is located in Shanghai and has registered capital of 800 million yuan.

    The other companies approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on Monday are mostly small-cap firms, with 11 aiming to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, four on the board for small and medium-sized enterprises of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and eight on the smaller ChiNext exchange of the Shenzhen exchange. (SD-Agencies)