ByteDance sells its securities business as regulation tightens

Shenzhen-based brokerage Chinalin Securities Co. Ltd. announced on Monday that it has inked a deal to buy ByteDance-owned brokerage Haitun Gupiao, also known as Dolphin Stocks in English.

According to the filing released by Chinalin, it will acquire a 100% stake in Beijing Wenxing Online Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of ByteDance and an operator of Dolphin Stocks, for 20 million yuan ($3.16 million).

Beijing Wenxing Online reported a net loss of 1.6 million yuan last year, although its revenue surpassed 28 million yuan. 

Citing an unnamed source from Chinalin, China Business Journal reported that Dolphin Stocks, which claims to intelligently track the market and provide quick information and performance analysis, had more than 12 million users and 320,000 monthly active users as of September 2021.

Dolphin Stocks will enrich the company’s digital services, Chinalin said, adding that it will also help provide better services to customers and accelerate the company’s transformation into a fintech company.

The TikTok owner is shrinking its financial services as Chinese watchdogs ramp up regulations and oversight on tech firms, asking them to spin off fintech operations as separate companies and meet stricter capital requirements. 

Last September, the social media upstart said that it will downsize its financial services unit and sell its securities business. Besides Dolphin Stocks, ByteDance also runs Squirrel Securities in Hong Kong and owns the third-party mobile payment service Douyin Payment.