Beijing mulls $7.2bn injection to clean up its brokerage sector
China is considering injecting Rmb60bn ($7.2bn; �5.6bn; ￡3.9bn) in newcapital into an arm of the securities regulator as part of the acceleration of the government's policy to clean up the troubled brokerage sector.
The details of the cash injection were contained in a speech delivered last week in Shenzhen by Huang Ju, vice-premier and the leader in charge of finance sector policy in the Communist party's politburo.
A version of Mr Huang's comments released through the official media did not mention the cash injection but an unofficial version now circulating in China, and which has been partially reported in Chinese news-papers, quotes him as saying the money has been allocated.
Under the plan, the money would be paid into theChina Securities Depository and Settlement Corp (CSDSC), which regulates trading and settlement in the stock market.
The body, which is under the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the regulator, was formed in 2001 through the merger of similar agencies in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
The CSDSC, which has registered capital of Rmb600m, sets aside money paid to it by brokerages to guarantee daily trades, an official of the organisation said yesterday. The official declined to comment on any cash injection.
The government has introduced a range of measures in recent months to reform the securities sector in line with a “nine-point plan” announced this year tobolster investor confidence, clean up securities companies and improve corporate governance.
Brokerage houses have been merged or in some cases closed down. Some have been allowed, under certain conditions, greater latitude to borrow funds.
However, the government has not announced the injection of any extra public funds into the sector.
In the section of his speech reported in the official media, Mr Huang said China should accelerate capital market reform while keeping the market “healthy” and “stable”.
“We must improve the operations of Chinese brokerages and other financial institutions and their ability to deal with financial risk,” he said.
It is not clear how any money paid into the CSDSC will be used, and the struggling market itself has not been overly stirred by discussion of the new funds.
However, local media reports have suggested that the funds could either be used to bail out bankrupt brokerages or be set aside for their depositors.
Goldman Sachs recently agreed to donate Rmb510m to pay out the depositors of Hainan Securities as part of the process of winning approval to establish an investment bank in China.
Mr Huang's speech on November 2 had a short- lived positive impact on stock prices, which rose slightly the following day before slumping back to previous levels.
His audience in Shenzhen included Shang Fulin, the head of the CSRC, and other senior officials, as well as a number of handpicked fund managers.
The Shanghai Composite index is hovering around the 1,300 level, about 30 per cent down from April this year.
中国拟注巨资清理证券业
中国正在考虑把600亿元人民币(合72亿美元)的新资本注入证券监管部门的一个分支机构。中国政府出台了清理陷入困境的证券经纪行业的政策，上述举措是加速执行这一政策的一部分。
中共中央政治局中主管金融政策的领导人、国务院副总理黄菊上周在深圳发表的讲话，就包含了这一注入现金行动的细节。
官方媒体公布的黄先生讲话没有提及注资举措，但目前中国流传的一个非官方版本引述他的话说，已经调拨了这笔资金，中国的一些报纸也对这个版本作了部分报道。
根据这个计划，这笔资金将被划拨给管理证券市场交易与结算的中国证券登记结算公司(CSDSC)。
证券主管部门中国证券监督管理委员会(CSRC)名下的这一机构，是在2001年通过将上海和深圳的类似机构合并而组建的。
中国证券登记结算公司的注册资本为6亿元人民币，它的一位官员昨天表示，该公司留存券商上缴的资金以保证日常证券交易。这位官员拒绝对任何注资行动发表评论。
近几个月来，政府已推出一系列措施来改革证券业，以落实今年宣布的“国九条”意见，后者旨在提振投资者信心，彻底清理证券公司并改善公司治理。
一些证券公司已被合并，一些则被关闭。而有些则获准在一定条件下拥有更大的借贷自由度。
但政府迄今尚未宣布向证券业注入任何额外的公共资金。
在官方媒体报道的黄菊讲话中，他表示在保持市场“健康”和“稳定”的前提下，中国应当加速资本市场改革。
现在还不清楚付给中国证券登记结算公司的资金将被如何使用，陷于困境的市场本身并没有因为新资金的讨论而做出过分反应。
不过，当地媒体的报道暗示说，这笔资金要么可能被用来救助破产的证券公司，要么留着用于弥补亏空的客户资金。
