The First Chinese Broker Cleared for Crypto in Hong Kong Is Going Private

Guotai Haitong Securities offered on Friday to take its Hong Kong-listed arm private, valuing the unit at HK$28.6 billion (about $3.6 billion). The price is HK$3.00 a share in cash, a 44.2% premium to the last close before the stock was halted.

Guotai Junan International, the target, owns the first Chinese state-backed brokerage that Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission cleared to deal in virtual assets. The regulator upgraded the unit's securities license in June 2025 to cover bitcoin, ether and tether for clients.

A delisting would end separate reporting for that desk and for the rest of the Hong Kong business. Guotai Junan International publishes its own accounts now. After the scheme, those numbers fold into a parent listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

A 44% Premium and 1.8 Times Book Value

Guotai Haitong and parties acting in concert already hold about 66% of the shares and would cancel the rest under a scheme of arrangement, the two companies said in a joint announcement. The stock would then leave the Hong Kong exchange.

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