China’s securities chief calls for reflection of stock market routs
Loopholes remain, chief of securities regulatory commission says, vowing to learn from mistakes
China will “rethink” its approach to regulating the securities business following the market rout this past summer, the chief of the industry’s watchdog said on Saturday.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission meeting was Xiao Gang’s first public appearance of the year and came amid rumours he might step down following the market turmoil.
The sharp sell-offs that have hit the market has eroded investor confidence and hurt the credibility of the commission.
An official statement on yesterday’s meeting seemed aimed at quietening the speculation about Xiao’s future, confirming he remained its chief, at least for now.
The watchdog must “deeply summarise and rethink the experience and lessons” of the summer, it said.
The stock market and investors remained “immature”, and “loopholes” remained in regulation. The Shanghai Composite Index more than doubled in the 12 months through May before losing 34 per cent by the end of September.
Xiao said the stock market should serve the real economy and could not foster excessive speculation or “self entertainment”, adding regulators should pay particular attention to risks of inflated asset prices.
