China securities regulator seeks investor views on stock market support
China's securities watchdog held a seminar with market participants over the weekend to gather suggestions on supporting the struggling stock market. Proposals include expanding long-term capital investment, higher dividends, and monitoring cross-border risks, as indexes hit new lows.
China's securities regulator held a seminar with market participants over the weekend in the government's latest attempt to support a struggling stock market, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in a statement on its website.
CSRC Chairman Wu Qing met with listed companies and experts from brokerage and fund management on Saturday to hear suggestions on improving China's capital markets. Proposals include further expanding investment by long-term, 'patient' capital, prodding listed companies to pay higher dividends, stepping up monitoring of cross-border risks and studying fresh market-friendly measures, the CSRC said.
The consultations come as a technology selloff deepens. The blue-chip CSI300 Index hit another one-year low on Friday, while the Shanghai Composite Index struggles near a key technical support level. The tech-focused STAR50 Index has tumbled more than a third from its July peak.
Yang Delong, chief economist at First Seafront Fund Management, said that the CSRC seminar 'is undoubtedly sending a positive signal to the stock market'. On Friday, the CSRC published draft rules that would lower the threshold for setting up equity mutual funds, as regulators seek to guide more long-term capital into the stock market.
On Friday afternoon, Chinese stocks reversed early sharp losses as trading volume spiked in several exchange-traded funds favoured by China's state-backed investors, stirring speculation of government intervention. 'When the National Team, 'the cavalry' mount up, the results can be impactful,' US-based ETF manager KraneShares said in a note to clients.