COMPANIES listed in China have conveniently blamed bearish market sentiment on inconsistent securities policies and incapable Beijing officials.
This, clearly, cannot be the case.
To a great extent, companies have themselves to blame for the lackadaisical performance of their stocks.
Just turn to the list of irresponsible behaviour cited by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the securities watchdog.
Recently, the CSRC found out that more than half of the 169 annual reports it inspected failed to meet the minimum standards.
Some companies fiddled their accounts, others simply could not be bothered to submit annual reports to the commission.
Although the CSRC blamed sub-standard in-house financial controllers and auditors for the financial inaccuracies, companies' managements must surely bear the ultimate responsibility.