CHINA’S top securities regulator vowed Friday to apprehend law-breaking financial tycoons he called “giant capital crocodiles,” saying they will not be allowed to “suck the blood” of retail investors, financial magazine Caixin reported.

    Liu Shiyu, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said that a group of such businessmen had circumvented regulations to ultimately control financial institutions and dominate board rooms.

    The market won’t allow them to “peel the skin and suck the blood of retail investors, and China should stick to its plan to capture a group of giant crocodiles and bring them back,” Liu was quoted as saying.

    The comments by Liu, who didn’t identify any targets, suggest that a tougher regulatory stance against stock speculation and manipulation will be a priority for the regulator.

    Xu Xiang, a hedge fund manager detained in the wake of the stock market crash in the summer of 2015, was sentenced in late January to 5-1/2 years’ imprisonment for market manipulation.

    China has intensified a crackdown on illegal market activities since the mid-2015 crash that wiped out almost US$3 trillion in share value.

    Liu was appointed chairman of the CSRC in early 2016, after his predecessor was widely criticized for the crash.

    In December, Liu condemned “barbaric” leveraged company buyouts by some asset managers using illegal funds.

    In another development, the top securities regulator is still preparing to launch oil futures and is considering lifting restrictions on stock index futures imposed during the 2015 stock market crash, Shanghai Securities Times said Saturday.

    The newspaper report cited an internal CSRC meeting held by Liu Shiyu.

    It did not give any details about the timing of the crude futures contract launch or when the limits may be relaxed.

    A move to end curbs on equity futures would likely spur a return of institutional investors and hedge funds to the market and boost liquidity, which has shrunk due to the restrictions.

    China’s mid-2015 stock market crash wiped US$3 trillion off share values.

    Since then, the government has tightened rules in the financial sector. It has restricted trading in stock index futures, banned grey-market margin financing and curbed shadow banking businesses.

    (SD-Agencies)