JD.com Inc is in talks to buy part or all of a stake in brokerage Sinolink Securities worth at least $1.5 billion, as the e-commerce major aims to bolster its financial services operations. A deal to buy the stake from Sinolink’s largest shareholder, Yongjin Group, would be the biggest bet in acquisition value terms by Beijing-based JD.com in China’s $45 trillion financial market.
China’s top two tech giants, Alibaba Group and Tencent, hold stakes in the country’s leading investment bank, China International Capital Corp. Alibaba has also invested in large broker Huatai Securities, while Tencent has backed Hong Kong-based online brokerage Futu Holdings.
According to Refinitiv, JD.com has only made two deals in the financial sector so far: its investment in online platform for automotive financing Yixin Capital’s $550 million fundraising in 2016, and another investment worth an undisclosed amount in China Taiping Insurance Holdings’ financial services unit in 2018.
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