The long-awaited final Chinese regulatory approval for the business could be granted around ‌the time of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Washington to meet with his American counterpart Donald Trump, reported Reuters.

The American bank, which offers corporate, institutional, and other banking services in China, in 2021, applied for a wholly-owned mainland Chinese brokerage unit licence as part of its push to ramp up its presence in the world’s second-largest economy.

“Citi, which has been hiring for the business over the last couple of years in preparation for the licence, aims to roughly double the headcount to around 100 people by the end of this year,” stated Reuters, while citing a source.

The ⁠regulatory approval from Beijing, if it happens this month, would see Citi competing with Wall Street rivals including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley for a share of growing and increasingly profitable onshore securities trading and underwriting deals in the world’s second-largest economy.

Citi’s aggressive attempt to establish a solid presence in China’s brokerage market comes at a time when the Asian giant is witnessing a growing list of technology and other companies tapping domestic equity markets for fundraising and attracting increased fund flows into the stock markets.

Wall Street giants, irrespective of the growing Sino-US geopolitical rivalry, have been expanding in the world’s second-largest economy.

The Xi Jinping administration also sees the growing access of American firms to its financial sector as a mean to attract more capital inflows.

As part of its China expansion, Citigroup will be adding personnel, including senior front-office bankers and support staff. Reports indicate that Citi will achieve this through a mix via a combination of internal transfers and external hires.

For the China brokerage unit, Citi also plans to relocate some of its bankers from Hong Kong and other Asian markets, apart from moving some of its existing mainland staff to the new business.

Citi’s American rivals are already gaining significantly in China. In 2025, profits at the wholly-owned ‌China securities ⁠unit of Goldman Sachs nearly tripled to 1.46 billion yuan (USD 217.39 million), while JPMorgan’s almost quadrupled to 984 million yuan. Morgan Stanley’s profit, on the other hand, soared sevenfold to 138 million yuan.

All three banks benefitted from surging securities trading revenue primarily from institutional clients.

Citi’s new China business unit will reportedly be seeking a regulatory nod to conduct A-share brokerage, underwriting, research, and principal trading businesses in the onshore market.

As per the sources, those offerings would complement the Wall Street giant’s existing offshore-focused team for investment banking in China that supports domestic companies’ financing activities in overseas markets.

The ⁠bank also plans to lean on its onshore corporate and commercial banking client base, which it already serves in areas such as foreign exchange, cash management, and trade finance, to win A-share equity and M&A mandates.

Citi’s new China unit will focus on sectors including technology, healthcare, and consumer and financial institutions, targeting the Asian giant’s established corporate “champions” as well as emerging players including AI and chip companies.

Citi would be entering a hyper-competitive domain, where, in addition to its Wall Street rivals, Chinese brokerages also introduce new offerings rapidly.
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