CSRC devises new rules on stock trades by managers after completion of probe
China's securities regulator said it had completed an investigation into insider trading by senior management at publicly listed companies and taken unspecified 'appropriate measures' to deal with the problem.
The vague warning is yet another signal that the government is worried about a bubble in stock prices.
'This is clearly another example of the government trying to dampen sentiment without popping it,' said Fraser Howie, the co-author of Privatizing China, the Stock Markets and Their Role in Corporate Reform. 'The regulator is letting everyone know it is aware of what is going on and wants to ensure gross excesses are limited.'
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.27 per cent yesterday to 2,612.54 points, continuing a slide that saw it drop more than 9 per cent last week.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission yesterday said it had already drafted new regulations on management stock purchases and trading, to be announced at an 'appropriate time'.
Under China's company and securities laws, which were revised in late 2005, senior managers and board members of listed companies are not allowed to buy or sell more than 25 per cent of a company's total shares in one year.
