China International Capital Corporation (CICC) and brokerage firm China Investment Securities Co. are reportedly in preliminary talks about a potential strategic cooperation and other business opportunities, CICC said in a stock exchange filing on Monday.

The corporation released the statement after an insider allegedly told Bloomberg that the two are in early discussion for a potential merger.

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The Chinese investment bank said that so far it has not reached an agreement with China Investment Securities and made it clear that the merger may, or may not, push through.

The bank stated in its Hong Kong stock exchange filing that it would actively continue to explore collaborative opportunities and engage in discussions with other firms.

Following the news, CICC's shares soared 3.7 percent higher in Hong Kong, with investors seemingly hoping that the corporation is trying to redeem itself from sliding from the top of China's brokerage sector, based on revenue in 2005. CICC shares closed up 1.5 percent on Monday following the corporation's official statement during its bourse filing.

"CICC's strength has been with high net worth individuals and corporate clients; the network and mass-market client base of China Investment Securities will be a good fit," Lucas Wang, an analyst at First Shanghai Securities Ltd., told Bloomberg.

According to Reuters, CICC account for 11 percent market share, ranking second behind Morgan Stanley for mergers and acquisitions in China in 2015.

So far, CICC is leading the list this year, thanks to some foreign investment banks that have scaled back its Chinese operations.

TagsChina Investment Securities Co., China International Capital Corporation, Stanley Morgan, merger and acquisition, Hong Kong Stock Exchange