China's securities watchdog denies resignation offer from chairman

China's Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) Monday refuted a Reuters' report that Xiao Gang, chairman of CSRC, has offered to resign, and the commission said it has asked Reuters to make a correction.

In a Reuters' report on Monday, the news service quoted unidentified sources as saying that the 57-year-old chairman tendered his resignation last week after his brainchild - a ‘circuit breaker' mechanism to limit stock market losses - was blamed for exacerbating a sharp sell-off.

Xiao delivered a lengthy speech at the authority's annual work meeting on Saturday in which he said the market rout since the summer had exposed many loopholes and deficiencies.

In his speech, the chairman vowed that the regulator would learn from its past mistakes.

The commission has come under growing criticism from investors for its handling of the stock market turmoil. China's A-share market plummeted at the start of the year after rebounding from a 34 percent loss in the summer. The benchmark index tumbled 18 percent in less than two weeks, closing in on the technical measure of a bear market (20 percent).