(Yicai Global) April 6 -- Led by Everbright Securities, listed Chinese brokers have reported a decline in revenues from their brokerage businesses last year because of the downturn in the securities market.

Twenty-one securities firms publicly traded in the Chinese mainland reported an average 16 percent drop in income at their brokerage businesses in the year ended Dec. 31, according to financial data platform Wind Information. Everbright Securities logged a 45 percent decline to CNY5.6 billion (USD813.8 million).

Shanghai-based Everbright Securities was followed by Dongxing Securities and Central China Securities with drops of 24 percent and 22 percent to CNY1.7 billion and CNY716 million (USD104 million) respectively.

Of the 21 companies, only East Money Information saw its brokerage revenue gain, rising 4.2 percent to CNY4.8 billion.

Stock markets across the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong dived last year. The Shanghai Composite Index slumped 11.1 percent, the Shenzhen Component Index 15.1 percent, and the Hang Seng Index 15.5 percent.

As a result of the market downturn, China issued CNY1.45 trillion (USD210.7 billion) of public funds in 2022, down 51 percent from 2021, cutting brokers’ incomes from third-party financial products. Among them, that at Citic Securities, China's largest brokerage, sank 36 percent to CNY1.7 billion.

In recent years, Chinese securities companies have been transforming into wealth managers to explore new revenue growth drivers.  Last year, thanks to the official launch of the personal pension plan system in China, the size of brokers’ wealth management businesses has grown.

China International Capital’s wealth management business expanded 10 percent to over CNY340 billion (USD49.4 billion) in 2022, with the number of WM clients soaring 28 percent to 5.8 million, according to the leading broker’s latest annual report.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione