China appoints ‘Broker Butcher’ Wu Qing as new chairman of securities regulator

China appoints ‘Broker Butcher’ Wu Qing as new chairman of securities regulator



BEIJING, CHINA – NOVEMBER 13: Illuminated skyscrapers stand in the central business district at sunset on November 13, 2023 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Gao Zehong/VCG via Getty Images)

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China’s Cabinet on Wednesday appointed market veteran Wu Qing as chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, state media Xinhua said. He replaced Yi Huiman to steer Beijing through the turbulent waters of a market downturn.

Wu, nicknamed “Broker Butcher” for his crackdown on traders, was previously acting vice mayor of China’s largest financial hub Shanghai and served as chairman of the Shanghai Stock Exchange for nearly two years.

His predecessor, Yi, took over as head of the CRSC in 2019 and was tasked with carrying out a series of comprehensive capital market reforms.

Wu’s appointment follows in the footsteps of the CSRC, which in the last two weeks announced new supportive measures to stabilize and revive China’s battered stock market, which has fallen victim to volatility in the real estate sector and widespread investor pessimism about the prospects for the country’s second-largest country world has become. largest economy.

The measures came as the CSRC earlier this week promised a new Spartan “zero tolerance” policy against malicious short selling – betting that one or more specific assets will fall in price – and warned would-be perpetrators that they would “lose their shirts and im “The prison would rot,” according to Reuters.

“The CSRC will crack down on the use of securities lending business to conduct unlawful arbitrage and other illegal activities in accordance with the law to ensure the smooth operation of the securities lending business,” a CSRC spokesperson said on February 6, according to a statement translated by Google.

Making matters worse, China’s CSI 300 fell to a five-year low on Jan. 31 after the country’s manufacturing activity contracted for a fourth straight month. Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg News reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss the state of the stock market with financial regulators after giving a speech last month in which he extolled the virtues of “high-quality financial development” and the “combination of the Rule “of law and the rule of virtue” and the activation of a “financial culture with Chinese characteristics”.

According to a statement translated by Google, in late January Chinese Premier Li Qiang called for “more powerful and effective measures to stabilize the market and confidence,” raising expectations that a previously hesitant Beijing will mobilize a massive stimulus package in the face of rising demand fears Deflation is hurting growth after China’s economy recovered more slowly than expected following the Covid-19 crisis.

UOB Kay Hian discusses the outlook for China's stock markets



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2024-02-07 11:36:32

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