Citigroup-linked China broker plans $1.6 billion Shanghai IPO

SHANGHAI, Mar 3 (Reuters) - Orient Securities Company Limited, the joint venture partner of a Citigroup Inc (C.N) unit, plans to raise 10 billion yuan ($1.59 billion) in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai stock exchange, the brokerage said late on Monday.

Orient Securities plans to issue up to 1 billion shares, it said in a prospectus posted on the Shanghai stock exchange website. The funds will be used for working capital purposes and to expand business, among other things.

Orient's IPO was one of 24 deals approved by the securities regulator which is stepping up the pace of listings in China in an effort to cool down the red-hot stock markets.

Brokerages like Orient have seen profits double as retail investor numbers jump and trading volumes soar, spurred by the central bank's surprise interest rate cut in November. Volumes have also been boosted by the Stock Connect scheme, which opened the same month, allowing direct trading of Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks on each other's bourses.

Orient Securities set up a joint venture brokerage Citi Orient Securities Co Ltd with Shanghai-Citigroup Global Markets Asia in 2011, according to the JV's official website.

Citi Orient is located in Shanghai and has registered capital of 800 million yuan.

The other companies approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on Monday are mostly small-cap, with 11 aiming to list on the Shanghai stock exchange, four in Shenzhen and eight on the smaller ChiNext exchange.

($1 = 6.2720 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Engen Tham and Lujian Xin; Editing by Miral Fahmy)