(ATF) China’s financial regulators will have “zero tolerance” for illegal activities in the country’s capital markets, a key meeting said on Sunday.
China should take multiple measures to enhance the enforcement of laws and regulations in the securities sector to maintain a healthy and stable markets, according to a Saturday meeting of the financial stability and development committee under the State Council.
It said it would crack down on fraudulent securities issuance and financial fraud, among other crimes.
Presided by Vice Premier Liu He, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the financial stability and development committee, the meeting pledged to severely punish major capital market violations and called for institutional improvements to curb fraud.
The case of “Crude Oil Treasure”, an investment product sold by the Bank of China, is perhaps just one example of the many ways in which minor investors can get stung in China. When the price of oil plunged earlier this year, investors not only lost their money, the Bank of China said they owed the lender more cash – $37.63 for every barrel they had bought, according to The New York Times.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission will work together with other relevant departments to set up a team specifically aimed at cracking down on illegal activities in the capital market, the meeting said.
China has been toughening regulations, especially regarding trade in bonds and other securities, as the country opens its markets to overseas participants. In May, Liu Xinhua, a deputy member at the National People’s Congress and deputy director of the NPC’s Finance Committee, outlined a list of new measures to crack down on malfeasance.
READ MORE: China keen to beef up laws against bond, securities fraud
