A TOTAL of 229 officials at provincial or ministerial levels have been told to quit companies where they hold concurrent posts, according to government figures released yesterday.

    In a move designed to restrict conflicts of interest through such arrangements, the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee issued a circular in October banning leading government and Party officials from working for companies, which resulted in an “exodus” of independent directors from listed companies.

    Following the circular, a special inspection has been conducted and 40,700 leading officials, including 229 at provincial or ministerial levels, were found to have second jobs, such as independent directors or supervisors at public companies, according to the department.

    All the provincial-level officials have been told to quit the companies and to date 173 have finished resignation procedures, it said in a statement.

    The rest have also handed in their resignations, but have to remain at the companies before successors are found, as company laws stipulate.

    The Organization Department pledged to press the officials to resign and closely monitor their resignation procedures.

    Banning higher-level officials from businesses has helped build a sound market order, according to the statement.

    It explained that current regulations do not rule out retired officials working for companies unrelated to their previous positions.

    However, they must obtain relevant authorities’ approval and should not receive any kind of payment or subsidies from the companies, it said.

    (SD-Xinhua)