Clifford Chance and King & Wood Mallesons are advising Chinese brokerage HTSC on its $4.5 billion initial public offering in Hong Kong.

The company, better known as Huatai Securities Co., sold 1.4 billion shares at $3.20 each, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. In its prospectus, Huatai said the bulk of the proceeds would be used to grow its securities-lending business.

The Huatai deal is one of a handful of equity offerings from Chinese brokerages this year, as they seek to capitalize on investor interest in a surging mainland stock market. The Shanghai Composite Index is up about 38 percent since January.