As the country prepares to ring in the New Year on 23 January, Chinese regulators are planning a range of improvements for the nation’s securities markets in the next 12 months.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced earlier this week it would focus on modifying rules relating to the bond markets, IPOs and delisting mechanisms.
CSRC chairman Guo Shuqing said a larger proportion of direct financing of Chinese public companies should come from corporate bonds and that the regulator would look into the development of new bond products like municipal bonds and high-yield bonds from state-owned enterprises.
He also revealed criteria for IPO documentation would ensure information was more “comprehensive, complete and accurate” and insisted stock pricing should be more closely aligned with the issuer’s fundamentals.
“Substantial measures must be taken to address the overpricing of IPOs and malicious speculation on the shares of poorly performing companies,” Guo said.
It is also believed China may launch as early as March a new centralised system for securities lending and short selling. The China Securities Finance Corporation, established October last year is thought to be the vehicle through which approved securities companies would be able to short sell.