Listings tightening enters next stage

Securities regulator to carry out random checks for compliance

The China Securities Regulatory Commission's implementation of tighter rules for would-be publicly listed companies has entered a second phase.

After a three-month period for companies to examine their own listing qualifications, officials said they had now moved into a period of random checks on company compliance with listing laws and regulations.

The self-examination period was ordered by former CSRC chairman Guo Shuqing, now the acting governor of Shandong province. All companies waiting to be listed had to re-examine their publicly released information to ensure it was "authentic, objective, and accurate".

All companies on the initial public offerings, or IPO, waiting list were required to hand in their self-examination reports by March 31.

The random checks will now be carried out by Xiao Gang, Guo's successor.

No timetable has been given yet as to when the temporary halt of initial public offerings will be lifted in the A-share market. And due to a three-day public holiday this week, the CSRC's regular press conference won't be held on Friday, so no answers are expected this week.

The conditions for the reopening of IPOs remain uncertain but will be addressed by the CSRC the following week.

No companies have been listed in the A-share market in the past five months.

Xiao is expected to make sure that the regulator's policies are kept firm and consistent, the China Securities Journal quoted a source from the CSRC as saying last Friday.

All the CSRC efforts so far have pointed in one direction: to make an A-share market IPO so difficult and so costly - in both legal terms and potential financial penalties for irregularities - that companies chasing easy profits are driven away, analysts said.

The tighter rules apply to the CSRC itself, and Xiao pledged to start building a regular system for the release of information.