OPINION> Commentary
Make regulation work
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-15 07:37

Expectations are high that Chinese shares may rebound to welcome the coming Olympic Games after the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has more than halved since the peak last October.

By taking a slew of measures to improve regulation, the country's securities authorities are ostensibly doing their bit to create the environment needed to stop a further decline of the market.

In its latest move to increase transparency in its work, China Securities Regulatory Commission promised that, starting from July 1, a preliminary prospectus will be released online within five working days after an IPO-seeking company and underwriters receive feedbacks from the commission.

Clearly, the move is aimed at strengthening the supervision over IPOs, enhancing underwriters' awareness of responsibility, and improving the quality of listed companies. Early disclosures of IPO information will enable both public investors and securities authorities to scrutinize the candidate companies more carefully and comprehensively.

Such efforts to improve regulation surely can help protect the interests of vast individual shareholders.

Among all the troubles that have long plagued the development of China's stock market is the poor quality of some listed companies which can neither reward shareholders with decent dividends nor respect the due right of public investors.

By continuously raising the standard for IPO approval, the securities watchdog has tried to keep bad apples out of the market from the very beginning.

However, by tinkering at the edges of a problematic IPO approval system, the securities authorities have so far failed to plug regulatory loopholes that are big enough for an apple truck to drive through.

A case in point is the dubious listing of Pacific Securities, a small brokerage in Kunming of Yunnan province, at the end of last year.

Media reports have raised enough questions on all the irregularities behind the approval for the company's debut on the Shanghai stock exchange. The brokerage did not make profits for three consecutive years to qualify itself for flotation. And practically no information was disclosed about its real shareholders.

In the face of strong public doubt about this abnormal listing, unfortunately, the securities watchdog have responded too slowly and too ambiguously.

A clear and convincing explanation of the case is vital to the credibility of the securities regulator. Only it can translate strengthened regulation on paper into deeds.

(China Daily 07/15/2008 page8)