China Finance Online and CITIC Securities Sign Strategic Cooperation to Develop Intelligent Finance Technology to Empower Investment Advisory and Wealth Management Services

BEIJING, Dec. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- China Finance Online Co. Limited ("China Finance Online", or the "Company", "we", "us" or "our") (NASDAQ GS: JRJC), a leading web-based financial services company that provides Chinese retail investors with online access to securities trading services, wealth management products, investment advisory services, as well as financial database and analytics services to institutional customers, today announced its ceremonial signing of a strategic cooperation agreement with the leading brokerage firm in China, CITIC Securities.

At the signing ceremony, China Finance Online and CITIC Securities announced that both parties will be committed to a long-term and comprehensive strategic cooperation on investment advisory and wealth management services by applying more intelligent finance technologies.

Mr. Zhiwei Zhao, CEO and Chairman of China Finance Online commented, "In this day and age of the convergence of technology and finance, the competing area among Chinese brokerage firms is gradually moving from commission to the depth of services. The companies create more value for users get to retain customers and attract new customers through word-of-mouth. We have witnessed that science and technology enable a significant improvement of services which produce the ultimate benefits for customers. As an undisputed industry leader, CITIC securities foresaw this trend and made this strategic plan to empower its investment advisers with financial technology to improve services in the midst of broadening its brokerage business to the wealth management business."

Under the agreement, both parties will cooperate in the area of investment advisory services, and China Finance Online will provide CITIC Securities' investment advisors with our proprietary cloud-based software products. Both parties will cooperate to carry out intelligent asset allocation research to enhance their wealth management capabilities.

Using the philosophy that "science and technology to promote service, service to promote efficiency", CITIC Securities as the industry leader has made Fintech a core priority to enhance its investment advisory services, and to promote the transition of the brokerage business to the wealth management business.

Mr. Xinli Yu, managing director and the executive director of the market research department of CITIC Securities, commented, "Limited by scale, efficiency and cost, the traditional brokerage and investment advisory services cannot meet the huge and rapid growth of the wealth management needs of more than 100 million Chinese retail investors, who have not access to professional investment advisory services. The combination of financial service with artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and other technologies, will greatly enhance the investment advisers' research capacity and service efficiency. We look forward to working with China Finance Online to extend our market leadership."

CITIC Securities Limited, a comprehensive securities company approved by the China Securities and Regulatory Commission (CSRC), has a wide range of financial products, services, corresponding core financial support system. CITIC Securities is committed to providing customers with convenient, fast and safe financial services. CITIC's total assets and operating income are ranked No. 1 in China.

About China Finance Online

China Finance Online Co. Limited is a leading web-based financial services company that provides Chinese retail investors with online access to securities trading services, wealth management products, securities investment advisory services, as well as financial database and analytics services to institutional customers. The Company's prominent flagship portal site, www.jrj.com, is ranked among the top financial websites in China. In addition to the web-based securities trading platform, the Company offers basic financial software, information services and securities investment advisory services to retail investors in China. Through its subsidiary, Shenzhen Genius Information Technology Co. Ltd., the Company provides financial database and analytics to institutional customers including domestic financial, research, academic and regulatory institutions. China Finance Online also provides brokerage services in Hong Kong.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements which constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements contained herein reflect management's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the Company. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, this release contains the following forward-looking statements regarding:

• our prospect and our ability to attract new users;
• our prospect on building a comprehensive wealth management ecosystem through providing a fully-integrated online communication and securities-trading platform;
• our prospect on stabilization in cash attrition and improvement of our financial position;
• our initiatives to address customers' demand for intuitive online investment platforms and alternative investment opportunities; and
• the market prospect of the business of securities-trading, securities investment advisory and wealth management.

Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, which risk factors and uncertainties include, amongst others, changing customer needs, regulatory environment and market conditions that we are subject to; the uneven condition of the world and Chinese economies that could lead to volatility in the equity markets and affect our operating results in the coming quarters; the impact of the changing conditions of the mainland Chinese stock market, Hong Kong stock market and global financial markets on our future performance; the unpredictability of our strategic transformation and growth of new businesses including our commodities brokerage services; the prospect of our margin-related business and the degree to which our implementation of margin account screening and ongoing monitoring will yield successful outcomes; the degree to which our strategic collaborations with partners will yield successful outcomes; the prospects for China's high-net-worth and middle-class households; the prospects of equipping our customer specialists with new technology, tools and financial knowledge; wavering investor confidence that could impact our business; and possible non-cash goodwill, intangible assets and investment impairments may adversely affect our net income. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F under "Forward-Looking Information" and "Risk Factors". The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

For more information, please contact:

China Finance Online
+86-10-8336-3100
[email protected]

Kevin Theiss
(212) 521-4050
[email protected]

SOURCE China Finance Online Co., Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.jrj.com