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HK Securities Regulator Pleased to Take Part in Mainland Securities Reform
Laura M. Cha, newly appointed vice-chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said Wednesday that she was pleased to take part in the mainland securities reform and the work is very meaningful.
Cha, who is schedule to leave for Beijing in mid-March to take the office, is the first top market regulator outside the Chinese mainland appointed to participate in securities management in the mainland. The appointment is regarded as part of the government's efforts to strengthen the supervision and regulation of the stock market in the mainland.
Before her departure, Cha told Xinhua that it is a rare chance to take part in the market regulatory job in the mainland, where the stock market has recorded an amazingly fast growth since its launch a decade ago.
Some problems appearing in the mainland market are what Hong Kong has experienced, she said, but some are new to the market, and she also needs time to learn and get used to the new circumstances.
Cha joined the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong in 1991 and became the executive director in 1994 and the deputy chairman in 1998. She said that the mainland market was not a stranger to her, and that the SFC and CSRC have maintained a close tie for years.
Each year, the CSRC would send personnel to the SFC in Hong Kong and the SFC also sent staff members to work in the CSRC since 1993, she said.
"We have training programs for securities professionals and we have also a fund to support the training programs," she added.
Recalling her career in securities market, she said there were two significant events that impressed her very much -- the listing of China's H-shares in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the merger of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Futures Exchange and their associated clearing houses.
The first listing of China's state-owned enterprise (SOE) in Hong Kong in 1993 marks a milestone for the Hong Kong stock market, she said, and it opened a channel to raise funds for China's SOEs overseas.
Cha, who participated in drawing up documents related to the listing of H-shares, said it is a very right move and no one may have imagined the result seven years ago.
She hoped more mainland enterprises can get to know the stock market in Hong Kong, and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and the SFC have done much work, such as hosting seminars, to promote the Hong Kong market and she thinks it is very useful.
When asked to comment on the relationship between the index fluctuation and the market regulation, Cha said the market index has actually nothing do to with the regulator.
The fluctuation of the stock prices reflects the performance of the listed companies and the market atmosphere in general, and the regulator does not care much about the index, she said.
A regulator would disclose as much information as possible to investors and introduced the strictest possible supervision over listed companies, she said.
What a regulator pursues is equality, fairness, transparency and creditability, she noted.
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