Guotai Junan International reportedly curbs trading for mainland clients amid regulatory clampdown

Guotai Junan International (1788) has imposed trading restrictions on existing mainland Chinese investors, Chinese financial media Yicai reported, making it the latest brokerage to fall in line with Beijing's tightening oversight of cross-border financial services.

Under the new policy that took effect on Saturday, mainland clients accessing their accounts from an IP address in China are restricted from depositing funds or buying securities, Yicai cited the brokerage's customer service staff as saying.

Investors are only permitted to sell existing holdings and withdraw funds while logged in from mainland IP addresses, the report said. However, account deposits, withdrawals, and trading remain unaffected for users logging in from overseas IP addresses or those who update their records with foreign identification.

The move mirrors adjustments made by brokerages such as Futu Securities and Tiger Brokers in June after Chinese regulators cracked down on illegal cross-border securities, futures, and funds activities.

The framework establishes a two-year transition period during which offshore brokerages are barred from facilitating deposits or buy orders for onshore clients, allowing only sell-offs and capital repatriations. Once the grace period expires, offshore platforms are required to shut down mainland-facing websites, mobile applications, and related ancillary services completely.

Guotai Junan International is among the few major Chinese state-backed brokerages to voluntarily curtail mainland services without being publicly named by regulators, the report noted.

The brokerage will also introduce updated bank account binding requirements for deposits and withdrawals starting October 10 to enhance fund security, which applies to all account holders and is unrelated to the cross-border restrictions, the report said.

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