(Yicai) Jan. 9 -- Net profit at Chinese securities companies is expected to have soared 40 percent last year from the year before, and some firms might even have logged more than 50 percent growth, thanks to a strong rebound in the mainland’s stock markets since September last year, according to a recent report by Kaiyuan Securities.

Dongxing Securities is confident of posting a more-than-50-percent surge in net profit in 2024 from the year before, driven by significant growth in its investments and the steady development of its wealth and asset management businesses, the Beijing-based firm said on Jan. 7. The company expects to achieve a jump in net profit of between 57.9 percent and 84.2 percent to between CNY1.5 billion (USD200 million) and CNY1.7 billion.

And Dongxing Securities will not be the only brokerage to achieve significant growth last year, an industry insider said.

There has been a big increase in trading volume on the mainland bourses since late September last year when a hefty economic stimulus package was rolled out, attracting a lot of investors, the person said. Although the market has experienced fluctuations since then, trading activity has remained consistently high, boosting revenue growth at brokerages.

And although there has been a drop in the number of initial public offerings, the wave of mergers and acquisitions among listed companies may to some extent offset the impact that fewer listings have had on investment banking revenues, the person said.

The number of new accounts opened on the Shanghai Stock Exchange last year surged 17 percent from a year earlier to nearly 25 million, the bourse said. In December, some 1.9 million accounts were opened. Although this was a 26 percent drop from the month before, it represented an almost 75 percent leap from a year ago.

Last year, securities firms with strengths in proprietary trading and which have significantly improved their investment abilities are expected to see improved performance, a market observer told Yicai. By contrast, firms that focus more on investment banking but have weaker proprietary trading capabilities may post slower growth.

Editor: Kim Taylor