Tighten securities market supervision needed
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-02-07 11:29

In the face of the current "anti-corruption storm," tighter regulation of the securities market is urgently called for, says an article in the Beijing Youth Daily. An excerpt follows:

So far this year, 12 senior executives of listed companies have been detained by the authorities. Together with those still in custody from the end of last year, the number of executives awaiting their day in court is quite large.

A common thread throughout the cases is that, though irregularities and illegalities have long existed in these companies and been known about by supervisory authorities, they have, until recently, gone unpunished.

The current "anti-corruption storm" is actually an administrative act guided by the central government and not a move by securities authorities. And what can be gleaned from this new series of anti-corruption measures is that the central authorities are getting serious about the problem-riddled securities market.

But more important is how this "administrative storm" can be transformed into a routine supervisory mechanism, and how this mechanism will improve market order.

Most companies involved in this "anti-corruption storm" have complicated relationships with State assets and local government departments. It is for these reasons, among others, that these companies did not operate according to market rules, and were not strictly supervised.

For some State-holding companies, "State assets" and "public interests" were used as excuses for illegal behaviour. Some management buyouts in State-owned enterprises (SOE) that were not entirely legal went ahead smoothly under the banner of "SOE reform." Supervisory work was somewhat lax in front of local administrative willpower and the interests of various government departments.

Thus the current "anti-corruption storm" mainly reflects the central government's determination to tighten up the securities market but is not the supervisory department's new awakening.

But better institutional construction, leading to a rigid supervisory mechanism, is needed in the long run.

To regulate the securities market through better administration is workable. But if this power intervenes in enterprises' operations, independent supervision will not be thoroughly implemented and the supervisory mechanism will not work effectively. Therefore, government departments should pull away from over-meddling. Administrative power should also be watched closely by supervisory departments.

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