Chicago Wants to Be a Hub for China Stock Trading

After more than a century in the shadow of New York’s Big Board, the Chicago Stock Exchange has been short on cash and searching for relevance. Now the exchange, which handles less than half a percent of U.S. stock trades, is approaching the final hurdle in an audacious plan to become a player in international equity markets.

The exchange last year found a buyer: a group of investors led by Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group Co., a conglomerate based in China with no apparent experience running an exchange. If the $27 million deal wins approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, one of America’s oldest trading venues will have a new focus: courting listings from small companies, particularly those based in China.