China's IPO Rebound Lifts Brokerages' Investment Banking Revenue 24.82% in First Half of 2026

China's A-share primary market financing environment improved in the first half of 2026, lifting brokerage investment banking revenue, according to Jiemian News. Revenue from investment banking-related businesses at 43 brokerages totaled 19.422 billion yuan, up 24.82% from 15.56 billion yuan a year earlier. The gains were concentrated at the top. CITIC Securities, CICC and Guotai Haitong Securities booked 3.023 billion yuan, 2.931 billion yuan and 2.224 billion yuan in investment banking revenue, respectively, for a combined 8.178 billion yuan, or 42.11% of the sample total. CITIC Securities remained No. 1, while CICC posted the fastest growth among the top tier at 75.72% and Guotai Haitong rose 59.80%. Huatai Securities ranked fourth with 1.541 billion yuan, up 31.94%, while China Securities was fifth with 1.113 billion yuan, down 0.81% from a year earlier. The report said 71 A-share companies completed IPOs in the first half, up from 51 a year earlier, and total fundraising jumped 88.93% to 70.574 billion yuan. CITIC Securities, CICC and Guotai Haitong jointly sponsored 30 IPOs, or 42.25% of all listings. Mid-tier brokerages showed sharp divergence. Guojin Securities posted 639 million yuan in investment banking revenue, up 60.68%; China Merchants Securities earned 604 million yuan, up 50.09%; and GF Securities, Zheshang Securities and Caitong Securities rose 53.85%, 55.19% and 56.83%, respectively. By contrast, Orient Securities fell 16.91% to 598 million yuan, Guolian Minsheng dropped 15.03% to 451 million yuan, Tianfeng Securities declined 31.73% to 292 million yuan, and Everbright Securities fell 24.68% to 274 million yuan. Twenty-two of the 43 brokerages reported year-on-year declines in investment banking revenue. At the lower end, Huaneng Securities and Zhongyuan Securities posted the fastest growth rates, but their revenue remained only 29 million yuan and 17 million yuan, respectively. The article also said there were 415 IPO candidates under review across China's exchanges as of August 30, including 58, 56, 41, 33, 24 and 23 queued IPO projects at CITIC Securities, Guotai Haitong, China Securities, CICC, Guolian Minsheng and Huatai Securities as of August 26.