Efforts to stabilize capital market

By Wen Xin (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-31 07:57

Top securities regulators have vowed to maintain stability in and strengthen supervision of the capital market to ensure orderly trading in the run-up to and during the Olympic Games.

"Preparations should be made to deal with any emergency and prevent trading from being harmed by rumors or hackers' attack," Shang Fulin, chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said.

Addressing the three-day national conference on securities and futures in Beijing, Shang said maintaining a stable market is a long-term objective.

The conference, which ended yesterday, is held twice a year.

Shang said greater efforts should be made to improve the corporate bond market, for it can help raise capital through different means.

"The stock market is undergoing a big correction, and enterprises should be aware that apart from issuing common shares to raise funds, they can choose to issue bonds, too," Shang said.

Additional steps will be taken in the second half of the year to encourage more companies to issue bonds, he said. "By raising the proportion of bonds in the financial structure, a company can cut costs and improve capital efficiency."

Twenty-one listed firms raised 74.5 billion yuan ($10.9 billion) in bond issues in the first six months of the year, up 5.35 times year-on-year. The amount accounted for 53 percent of the total fresh capital raised in the stock market through new shares and bonds, according to CSRC's latest figures.

Continuous support should be given to the entry of longer-term investment, including enterprise annuity, insurance firms' premiums and social security funds, into the stock market, he said. This can help improve the investor structure and cut the risks posed by short-term speculations.

On the macro-economic impact on the capital market, Shang said: "The fundamentals of the country's capital market have remained sound." But efforts should be made to deal with any new challenge thrown up by changing macro-economic conditions at home and abroad.