|
CHINA'S securities regulator said it will suspend intraday trading of stocks with large unexplained moves and increase scrutiny of companies over media reports and market rumors to control speculative and insider trading.
Manipulation of the stock market has replaced falsifying profits as the main illegal activity that regulators must address, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said, Bloomberg reported.
"Exchanges will immediately suspend intraday trading of shares until companies given sufficient clarification or release sensitive information,'' the securities regulator said in a statement posted on its Website.
The move comes as the nation's stock market surge has prompted official warnings of a speculative bubble and illegal diversion of funds into shares. China's cabinet approved a special task force in February to clamp down on illicit securities activities.
China wants to curb speculation in stocks to break boom-bust cycles in a market that saw US$24.4 billion of stock offerings in the past year. Investors poured 1.14 trillion yuan (US$148 billion) into mutual funds in the first three months of the year, an increase of 33 percent over the previous quarter, according to Shanghai-based Z-Ben Advisors Ltd.
The new rules explicitly bar early disclosure of market- sensitive information or its use for trading in the stock market. Companies suspected of insider trading will also face greater hurdles to regulatory approval for mergers and acquisitions, the statement said.
|
