China could halve the number of securities brokers by the end of the year, leaving only about 50 firms qualified to tradde, te China Daily reported. He Jiawu, a director of the Securities Association of China, told the paper that brokers that fail to meet regulatory requirements will be banned from the securities market after 2006.   According to the paper, only 32 brokers have qualified under the new requirements, which limit access to the market to firms that have suffciient net capital, low levels of debt and returned any deposits embezzled from clients. 90 firms are left competing for the last 18 available qualifications.   “The requirements are quite strict, considering many brokers' current situation. Brokers who don't meet the requirements will have to restructure or quit the industry forever,” said Dong Chen, an analyst with CITIC China Securities to the paper.