By Selena Li and Julie Zhu

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Wang Sheng, investment banking head of China International Capital Corp Ltd (CICC), is set to leave the bank to take over as chief executive of smaller peer China Galaxy Securities, six people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Wang, who has spent his entire career with CICC, would be named the de-facto No. 2 executive of Galaxy in the coming days, two of the sources said.

The move comes as China Investment Corporation (CIC) — Galaxy and CICC’s biggest shareholder and parent — seeks to bolster Galaxy’s investment banking business, which has for years focused on the brokerage segment and lagged domestic peers in the primary market, said two of the people.

While Galaxy was ranked sixth by brokerage sales among local securities houses last year, CICC was No. 9, according to official data. Galaxy’s investment banking revenue, however, only ranked 30th last year while CICC was third on the ranking.

An internal memo issued by CIC and seen by Reuters said the parent planned to appoint Wang to a top job at a directly run subsidiary, but did not name the firm. The proposed appointment was open to internal review between July 2 and July 8.

The proposed nomination would also help the 45-year-old low-profile Wang strengthen his credentials and leadership capabilities, said four of the people.

CICC, the country’s oldest investment bank, is currently run by 58-year-old CEO Huang Zhaohui, who is Wang’s predecessor as head of investment banking.

China’s official retirement age for most men is 60.

As Galaxy Chairman Chen Gongyan reached the retirement age last month, current CEO Chen Liang has been appointed as the broker’s party chief. It is a common practice at state-owned firms that party chief wears the hat of chairman of company board.

CICC declined to comment. Responding via a company spokesperson, Wang also declined to comment. Galaxy and CIC did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

According to an official biography, Wang has been CICC’s head of investment banking since 2020. During his two decades at CICC, Wang has risen through the ranks and become one of the bank’s top dealmakers.

He has played a crucial role in helping many large Chinese enterprises including Alibaba, China Tower and CGN Power Co Ltd raise capital at home and overseas.

(Reporting by Selena Li and Julie Zhu; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Kim Coghill, Uttaresh.V and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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