CHINA will focus on stable development of its capital markets this year, but will press ahead to further open its markets to foreign companies, the top securities regulator said yesterday.

    “We will not waver from reforms [to make China’s capital markets] more market-based, law-based and international,” said Liu Shiyu, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

    Regulators have turned their sights on controlling risks in financial markets as speculative activity and leverage in the economy rise, with the CSRC vowing to clear out “abnormal phenomena” from capital markets.

    The CSRC recently pledged to target “barbaric” leveraged buyouts and to restrict excessive fundraising by some listed companies, with a focus on private share placements.

    Liu said earlier this month that CSRC would take down law-breaking financial tycoons he called “giant crocodiles”, saying they will not be allowed to take advantage of retail investors.

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

    Liu, appointed CSRC chairman in early 2016, said that balancing the needs for stability and progress were crucial, especially in managing the primary market.

    Fang Xinghai, another deputy chairman at the CSRC, said at the same news conference that China is discussing measures that would allow foreign firms to take a larger stake in domestic joint venture securities and futures brokerages, without providing a timetable for any changes.

    Fang also said there was no timetable for the launch of an international board that will allow foreign-invested enterprises to list shares domestically in China, adding that issues such as accounting treatment and disclosure rules were still being studied. (SD-Agencies)