On December 20, Liu Guoqiang, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China and vice director of the Office of Financial Stability and Development Committee (FSDC Office) under the State Council, presided over a symposium attended by representatives from some commercial banks, securities firms, insurance companies, trust companies and fund companies, and listened to their opinions and suggestions on capital market reform and development. Also in attendance at the symposium were responsible officials from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Focusing on subjects such as enhancing the strategic position of the capital market, improving capital market regulations and cultivating the capital market investor base, the participants offered detailed suggestions on promoting the stable and healthy development of the capital market.
It was noted at the symposium that Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, has made overall arrangements for furthering reform and opening up at the grand gathering marking the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up. The CPC Central Committee has explicitly urged the financial sector to ramp up efforts to establish a market-oriented and law-based capital market. Currently, with its risks having been mitigated considerably, the capital market shows long-term investment value, providing favorable opportunities for reform.
The participants said that since a high degree of consensus has been reached on capital market reform, the reform will soon be entering a stage of concrete implementation and moving ahead with quickened steps. Going forward, capital market reform should place greater emphasis on enhancing the quality of listed companies, strengthening their governance and tightening delisting rules. Efforts should be made to strengthen information disclosure mechanism and effectively protect investors. The principle of market orientation should be implemented resolutely to reduce administrative intervention in trading. Work should be done to draw on international practices to nurture medium and long-term investors, and facilitate regulation-based access to the capital market for all types of asset management products. Regulatory authorities should enhance communications with the market and listen to its voices receptively.