China’s securities regulator raises doubts about readiness of new tech board in debut meeting with press
- Yi Huiman, veteran banker and chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said he had been working with different research and audit departments to stabilise the market
- Yi questioned the capabilities of domestic banks in pricing and underwriting new shares
China’s newly appointed top securities regulator, Yi Huiman, a veteran banker, raised questions about the readiness of a proposed new stock board to rival Nasdaq for fundraising by the country’s best technology start-ups when he met reporters on Wednesday afternoon.
The new technology and innovation board was introduced by President Xi Jinping in November. The bourse was promoted by the country’s top leadership to help reform the domestic capital market and help its best technology companies tap new sources of fundraising.
“The biggest features of the new board are the pricing and underwriting of new shares,” Yi said in his first press conference in Beijing after taking over the position of chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) late last month.
“They will be different from the current system. The capability of setting price and selling new shares is the core competitiveness of a bank. But we are concerned that domestic banks are not experienced enough.”
Late last month, regulators published rules for the new board and invited public consultation. Many of the rules represent a big change from existing stock market regulations. They include allowing companies that are not yet profitable to list for the first time and expanding the limit on daily share price movements.