Guotai Haitong has released a research report stating that agents are penetrating into all walks of life and gradually becoming real-world infrastructure, propelling the fintech industry toward a new stage of intelligence with broad growth space. Fintech investment is ushering in fresh opportunities, and the report recommends core beneficiary companies across various sub-sectors.
First, it is bullish on demand for business system upgrades driven by the large-scale deployment of agents in financial IT, compounded by quality and efficiency gains from deep large-model empowerment; in addition, active market trading has heightened the urgency for brokerage IT system upgrades. Second, it is bullish on the development prospects of intelligent investment research and intelligent investment advisory in the financial information services industry, providing differentiated and intelligent information services to better meet investors' information needs. Third, it is bullish on agent-based payments driving payment services to leap from a channel-based model to an intelligent operation-based model.
The main views of Guotai Haitong (GTHT) are as follows: from 2026/10/12 to 2026/10/23, the fintech index rose 1.66%, while the CSI 300 fell 4.91% over the same period; the Hong Kong fintech index fell 4.93%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 7.77% over the same period.
Looking ahead, financial AI applications are accelerating their deployment, and financial scenarios have strong payment capacity and high data density, so the report continues to favor AI applications in the financial sector. Financial AI applications and governance are advancing in tandem, and payment infrastructure construction continues to improve.
In financial IT, the Shanghai Futures Exchange plans to refine program trading management rules, the FSB is improving the financial AI governance framework, and procurement for financial AI platform construction is advancing; in financial information services, China Galaxy Wealth has launched "AI Smart Investment 50," bank wealth management scale is growing, and public fund allocation ratios are rising; in third-party payments, Ant Digital Technologies and HSBC have completed technical verification of agent micro-payments, Visa's domestic clearing institution preparation has been approved, and the digital yuan system and smart contract ecosystem framework have been further improved.
On the overseas AI frontier, the FIS anti-money laundering investigation agent has opened for commercial sales, Claude Duet has opened a research preview waitlist application, and Today AI disclosed cumulative financing of over US$200 million, with financial compliance and personal assistant applications continuing to advance.
Individual stocks' AI products continue to iterate, and cross-border layout and industrial investment are advancing in an orderly manner. Company news: East Money's Miaoxiang Work and Hithink's Wencai Work have been upgraded, promoting the connection among financial data, analytical tools, and task execution; Hundsun Technologies launched investment advisory and investment data analysis skills, expanding service entry points beyond terminals; Lianlian DigiTech launched a localized acquiring solution in Hong Kong to serve brands going global.
Company announcements: Lakala plans to acquire a controlling stake in Gaofu Information to expand its cross-border payment network and customer coverage; Lianlian DigiTech subscribed 200 million yuan to participate in an industrial fund, positioning in semiconductors, AI, and advanced manufacturing; Bohai Leasing completed about 200 million yuan in share buybacks, while also monitoring the progress of the review for the renewal of Lianlian Yintong's payment license.
Risk warnings: AI model application risks; risks of improper agent execution; market volatility risks.
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