China to Enhance Securities Regulatory Efforts 　　A senior Chinese official said January 20 that this year China will continue to carry out the reform of its securities regulatory system. 　　Zhou Zhengqing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said that efforts will be made to prevent stock market risks, reform and improve the ratification system for stock issuance, while ensuring a healthy and stable market development and boosting economic growth. 　　Speaking at the Annual National Securities and Futures Working Conference in Beijing, Zhou said that 1999 is a critical year for reaching the reform targets of state-owned enterprises. He added that efforts should be made to take advantage of the stock markets to support the reform and development of state-owned enterprises. 　　Through listing on the stock markets state-owned enterprises will be able to raise capital, transform their management mechanisms and then restructure totally. 　　He stressed that the quality of listed companies is the cornerstone for the healthy development of stock markets. "Effective efforts must be made to improve the quality of newly-listed companies while gradually solving the existing problems of companies which have already been listed." he added. 　　The clearing and adjustment of the securities and futures markets will be carried on this year, he said, with the focus being put on the standardization of the trading practices of securities companies. 　　Zhou warned that credit balances must be deposited in appointed commercial banks to prevent misappropriation, as required by the Securities Law. 　　Pointing out that the emergence of the Securities Law is an important event in China's securities regulatory work, he also said it marks a new development for the market. 　　The CSRC will carry out a comprehensive check on existing securities rules and regulations, while drawing up and perfecting relevant rules and regulations to coordinate the sector. 　　Other major items on the CSRC's regulatory agenda include reinforced supervision of the information availability on listed companies; drawing up relevant regulations for the supervision over listed companies' expenditure; and reinforced supervision over security companies and various intermediate institutions. 　　 　　 HomeNews 1999-01-21 Page1 Full Story in Chinese