China's Top Security Regulator Seeks to Ease Volatility Concerns
China's Top Security Regulator Seeks to Ease Volatility Concerns
(Bloomberg) -- China’s top security regulator sought to ease concerns about burgeoning stock-market volatility, after Friday’s wild price swings capped the worst three-week rout for mainland equities in more than a year.
The recent gyrations were due to “external factors,” but these are not the dominant elements in China’s stock-market development, said Yi Huiman, chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission, in a speech in Beijing on Saturday. Economic fundamentals and the quality of listed companies should remain the main long-term drivers for share prices, he said.
Yi’s remarks are the first comments on stocks from a top-level official after the Shanghai Composite ended last week down by 4.5%, even after buying from state-backed funds on Friday helped drive the index to its steepest one-day gain since March. Renewed trade tensions with the U.S. and signs the economic recovery remains fragile have unnerved investors.
The securities chief moved to encourage greater risk taking soon after his appointment in January. Even after a 10% slump over the past three weeks, China has the world’s best-performing major stock market this year. Equities on the mainland have bounced back from the 2018 rout that wiped out $2.4 trillion in value to make it the globe’s worst share market.
Yi said Saturday the commission is looking for ways to delist some shares, because “zombie” and “empty-shell” companies need to be resolutely removed from the market. He also warned listed companies and senior management staff not to disclose fake information, conduct insider trading, manipulate stock prices or otherwise harm the interests of listed companies.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Yinan Zhao in Beijing at yzhao300@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey Black at jblack25@bloomberg.net, Garfield Reynolds, Naoto Hosoda
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