Others News
- China to resume approval of sino-foreign securities firms
Date: 7-Sep-2007 Sources: (Xinhua Online)
DALIAN, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Shang Fulin, chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said China will resume the approval of Sino-foreign securities joint ventures now that the rectification of securities firms has been completed.
'Allowing foreign capital into China's securities business will help raise the capabilities of the whole industry,' said Shang, adding that the commission is engaged in research on the resumption.
Foreign capital can enter China's securities market by setting up branch companies, cooperating with investment banks, or acquiring shares in licensed securities firms in China, Shang said.
He made the remarks while addressing a seminar on China's capital market at the Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions hosted by the World Economic Forum in China's northeastern coastal city of Dalian.
Opening up domestic securities market is part of the commitment along with China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001.
According to the commitment, foreign institutions are allowed to establish joint ventures with Chinese partners and handle securities and fund business in China. Foreign funds shall not exceed 33 percent of the joint venture's shares in the first three years of WTO accession. And the figure shall not go over 49 percent three years after China's WTO membership.
By the end of last year, eight Sino-foreign joint securities companies and 24 joint fund management companies had been established in the country.
The approval of new joint securities firms was suspended in 2004 when the CSRC kicked off an overhaul of the country's securities dealers. The campaign concluded at the end of August this year.
Shang said the overhaul was introduced to rectify the entrenched problems that had troubled the country's securities market since its inception.
'At earlier stages, many Chinese securities firms were set up by people from the banks, and they brought along their 'habits' in the bank that were not suitable for securities operations, such as buying stocks with customers' deposits,' Shang had said.
The three-year overhaul focused on renovating internal regulations and building effective external supervision, according to the chairman. More than 20 unqualified securities companies, about a third of the total number three years ago, had been shut down.
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