China securities watchdog vows to improve quality of listed firms

BEIJING -- The China Securities Regulatory Commission has pledged further measures to improve the quality of public companies, vowing "zero tolerance" for securities misconduct.

The CSRC will continue to optimize the regulatory framework governing listed firms by drawing on international best practices, said Yan Qingmin, vice chairman of the commission, at a recent forum.

The commission will strive to walk a fine line between innovation and regulatory oversight, supporting high-quality growth of listed firms through streamlined administration while improving securities law enforcement to forestall systemic risks, Yan said.

The country has adopted a variety of technological tools including big data and artificial intelligence to profile listed companies and identify potential irregularities, Yan noted.

The commission will work with other government departments to facilitate companies' high-quality growth, he said.

China's stock market has seen a bullish performance this year, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index crossing the threshold of 3,600 points and the ChiNext Index, tracking China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, hitting a new five-plus-year high Thursday.

Net inflows of funds through "northbound trading," or money invested from Hong Kong into the Chinese mainland through the stock connect programs, were positive for 12 straight trading days, indicating a bullish sentiment of overseas investors toward Chinese stocks.