A futures company has charted a new course for expanding its international operations. NANHUA FUTURES announced that the entire net proceeds from the global offering of its H shares will be used to increase capital in its overseas subsidiary, Heng Hua International Financial Co., Ltd. The capital injection amounts to HKD 1.203 billion, which is approximately CNY 1.072 billion based on the RMB central parity rate published by the People's Bank of China. Following this injection, Heng Hua International's registered capital will rise from HKD 826 million to HKD 2.029 billion.
According to the H-share prospectus released by NANHUA FUTURES, the net proceeds are designated exclusively for Heng Hua International. The plan is to strengthen the capital base of overseas subsidiaries in the UK, the US, and Singapore, aiming to further expand the company's international operations, optimize its overseas business structure, and enhance its competitiveness and risk management capabilities in the global market.
The capital increase will be executed through a cash investment, funded by the proceeds from NANHUA FUTURES's H-share listing. The company issued 108 million H shares in its global offering at HKD 12 per share, raising a total of HKD 1.203 billion.
Heng Hua International's strong profitability is likely a key reason for this capital infusion. According to the announcement, the subsidiary reported revenue of CNY 506 million and a net profit of CNY 328 million for the first three quarters of 2025.
Overseas business has become a new growth frontier for futures companies. As one of the first domestic futures firms to actively implement an internationalization strategy, NANHUA FUTURES now sees its overseas operations as a major driver of performance growth. Data shows that as of June 30, 2025, client equity for its overseas futures, securities, and leveraged forex brokerage services reached HKD 17.8 billion, a 49.6% increase from the end of 2022. Its overseas asset management business saw an even more rapid growth of 70%, with assets under management reaching HKD 3.4 billion. Through its presence in Hong Kong, China, and Singapore, NANHUA FUTURES has established a service bridge connecting domestic and international markets, offering clients cross-market, multi-product financial services and demonstrating initial international competitive advantages.
Last year, Yong'an Futures, another A-share listed futures company, utilized its own funds to inject up to HKD 536 million into its wholly-owned subsidiary, Xin Yong'an International Financial Holdings Co., Ltd., to further deepen its international development strategy and consolidate its first-mover advantage. Part of this capital, up to GBP 20 million, was allocated for establishing a subsidiary in the UK. According to Yong'an Futures' announcement, its UK subsidiary was officially registered in November 2025 under the name YONGAN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL (UK) CO. LIMITED.
Yong'an Futures' overseas operations have also become a powerful engine for the company's development. In the first half of 2025, its overseas financial services business generated revenue of CNY 124 million and an operating profit of CNY 73 million, representing a year-on-year increase of nearly 5%. Within this segment, futures brokerage trading volume grew by 22.42% year-on-year, with institutional clients accounting for 78.25% of client equity and 82.83% of trading volume.
NANHUA FUTURES's approach of using H-share listing proceeds to support overseas expansion offers a new model for the international development of China's futures industry. An industry expert noted that NANHUA FUTURES's full allocation of H-share funds to its overseas subsidiary provides a practical and replicable template for the internationalization strategies of futures companies, effectively addressing the industry's long-standing challenge of lacking concrete support for global expansion. Internationalization is a crucial direction for futures firms to break free from homogeneous domestic competition and broaden profit channels, but many institutions are either constrained by insufficient capital or unclear pathways, struggling to prioritize licensing, network establishment, and business development.
The expert stated that NANHUA FUTURES, by using its core overseas subsidiary as a hub and precisely supplementing capital through H-share fundraising while coordinating development across its global network, has set a benchmark with its "strategic focus + capital empowerment" model. This demonstrates that internationalization is not a blind venture abroad but a systematic global layout with planning, support, and clear direction.
Another analyst observed that while international institutions have often established wholly-owned futures companies to participate in China's domestic market, the two-way opening of the futures market is also accelerating the development of international operations by domestic futures companies. NANHUA FUTURES's international business already plays a significant role in supporting its performance growth. By listing in Hong Kong and raising funds overseas to support international operations, the company has improved its capital operation efficiency. This approach can serve as a capital operation model for the industry's opening-up, using overseas financing to help companies enhance their international competitiveness.
This move by NANHUA FUTURES also breaks a long-standing industry bottleneck. The domestic futures industry has historically faced issues with single financing channels and low capital utilization efficiency, with most firms overly reliant on A-share private placements. NANHUA FUTURES, through its dual "A+H" share listing platform, has integrated domestic and international financing channels, proving that capital operations must be deeply aligned with internationalization strategy to truly enhance efficiency.
From a broader perspective, as more Chinese companies accelerate their global expansion, the rapid development of the Chinese futures industry's overseas operations can provide comprehensive, global risk management services for these outbound Chinese实体 industries, actively supporting the Belt and Road Initiative. Concurrently, the futures industry can move away from inward-looking, low-quality competition and embark on a new chapter of high-quality global development.
It is further indicated that the internationalization and capital operation capabilities of the futures industry will undergo an overall upgrade. The industry will transition away from superficial, tentative cross-border efforts towards a landscape characterized by "globalization for leading firms and differentiated strategies for small and medium-sized companies." Larger companies with internationalization potential can follow the NANHUA FUTURES path by first securing core licenses, then establishing overseas hub institutions, and focusing on specialized products. Small and medium-sized firms with limited capital should first consolidate their domestic business and explore cross-border services through partnerships.
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