Illegal margin financing facilitators punished

    THE securities regulator said Friday it has decided to punish three financial software providers for facilitating illegal margin financing, part of efforts to promote healthy development of the market.

    Illegal margin financing, money investors borrowed to bet on stocks, was the main driver of China’s stock market bubble last year. The market crashed last summer after the China Securities Regulatory Commission launched a crackdown on such a practice.

    Great Wall restructures as joint stock company

    CHINA Great Wall Asset Management Corp., one of the country’s four big distressed debt managers, has moved one step closer to listing by restructuring as a joint stock company Friday, according to an online announcement.

    The newly established Great Wall joint stock firm has a registered capital of 43.1 billion yuan (US$6.23 billion), the Ministry of Finance said in the statement. The Ministry of Finance, the National Council for Social Security fund and China Life Insurance (Group) are Great Wall’s shareholders, it said. Great Wall said earlier this month that it is seeking five to eight foreign and domestic strategic investors next year ahead of a market listing.

    China Securities to launch HK IPO

    BROKERAGE China Securities Finance Co. is expected to launch today an up to US$1.1 billion Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), raising funds to expand its wealth management, securities trading and overseas business.

    The company, partly owned by China’s top brokerage CITIC Securities Co., will offer 1.13 billion shares in an indicative range of HK$6.36 to HK$7.26. That would put the IPO at up to HK$8.2 billion (US$1.06 billion).

    Gold miners to compete for Polyus stake

    CHINESE gold producers Zhaojin Mining Industry Co. and Zijin Mining Group Co. are among parties in talks to buy a stake in Polyus PJSC, Russia’s largest gold miner, people with knowledge of the matter said.

    Zhaojin is considering teaming with Chinese conglomerate Fosun International Ltd. for a joint bid, according to the sources. They are weighing offers for as much as a 25 percent stake in Polyus being sold by billionaire Suleiman Kerimov’s family, the sources said.