China's Huatai Securities plans to list in London on December 14: source

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese brokerage Huatai Securities plans to list on the London Stock Exchange on Dec. 14 via the Shanghai-London Stock Connect, a person with direct knowledge of the plan said.

Shanghai-listed Huatai, which counts Alibaba as a strategic investor, will soon publish a prospectus to issue Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) in London, said the person, who is not authorised to speak to the media.

Huatai's London listing will mark the launch of a long-awaited stock "connect" scheme between Shanghai and London. The scheme allows companies publicly traded in Shanghai and London to list on each other's bourses via the issuance of depositary receipts (DRs), a financial instrument representing publicly traded securities of a foreign company.

The planned offering by Huatai, China's fifth-largest brokerage by assets, comes after it received a green light last week from China's securities watchdog for the London issuance.

Huatai, which owns businesses ranging from brokerage and wealth management to investment banking, has said it would use proceeds from the London offering to fund overseas expansion and strengthen its capital position.

The company this year introduced Internet giants Alibaba and Suning.com Co as strategic investors.

(Reporting by Samuel Shen and John Ruwitch; Editing by Richard Borsuk)