China's securities regulator reaffirms zero-tolerance towards illegal market operations

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the country's top securities regulator, on Friday reaffirmed its zero-tolerance towards illegal operations in the capital market, and pledged to continue strengthening law enforcement to promote the healthy development of the sector.

In 2024, the CSRC handled 739 cases and handed down a total of 592 punishment decisions, with aggregate penalties reaching 15.3 billion yuan (about 2.13 billion U.S. dollars), which was more than double the total reported the previous year, Li Ming, vice chairman of the SCRC, told a press conference.

The regulator has also doubled its efforts to crack down on what it calls the "most intolerable" illegal operations, which include fraudulent issuance, financial fraud, the illegal reduction of holdings, and market manipulation, according to Li.

Last year, the CSRC investigated and handled a total of 135 violations of information disclosure rules, an increase of 17 percent year on year and the highest number among all case types, he said.

He Yanchun, an official with the CSRC, noted that listed firms are excellent representatives of Chinese enterprises, and only a very small number are involved in fraudulent activity.

It is expected that a certain number of financial fraud cases will be uncovered in the coming period, but this will not affect the trend of the high-quality development of China's capital market, He said. "We firmly believe that the overall quality and investment value of Chinese listed companies will continue to improve."

In the future, the CSRC will continue to severely punish fraudulent issuance, financial fraud, and market manipulation, and further enhance law enforcement in the capital market, according to Li.