It is hard to show growth when markets are in freefall. In 2022, equity capital market deal volumes in mainland China fell 9%, Hong Kong ECM volumes plunged 79%, China onshore credit bond volumes dropped 10%, offshore bond issuance declined 45%, while domestic M&A tumbled 32% and cross-border M&A by 25%.
In such an environment, a firm’s strength becomes apparent not just from how it manages to ride out the storm, but also from the way it stays close to its clients and offers them the right advice at the right time.
China International Capital Corp, led by chairman Shen Rujun and chief executive Huang Zhaohui, has demonstrated these qualities, and wins Asiamoney’s award for best securities house in China for 2023.
Operating revenue for 2022 fell 13.4% year on year, to Rmb260.9 billion ($37 billion), reflecting the high base in the previous year and the market downturn. But even so, CICC’s compound annual growth rate of 18% between 2019 and 2022 easily beat the industry average of 3%.
Within investment banking, CICC’s fee income slipped 0.3% year on year, to Rmb5.75