Chinese broker set to buy Hong Kong rival

Chinese brokers are looking to expand into Hong Kong, analysts say

China's Haitong Securities has said it will buy a 53% stake in Hong Kong's Taifook Securities for 1.82bn Hong Kong dollars ($235m; £142m).

This would represent the first step in the first takeover of a Hong Kong broker by a mainland counterpart.

Once the deal is secured, Haitong said it would then bid for the remaining publicly traded shares in Taifook.

Analysts said Chinese brokers were looking to move into Hong Kong to expand their global reach.

Haitong said it "views the Hong Kong market to be very important to its international expansion strategy".