Ping An Securities hit with fine

300m yuan fund launched to compensate investors who suffer big losses

China's top securities regulator has announced its heftiest fine in a decade on an IPO sponsor - on Ping An Securities Co Ltd - underlining its determination to get tough on financial investigations.

Ping An Securities, the sponsor of Wanfu Biotechnology (Hunan) Agricultural Development Co Ltd's IPO in 2011, has been fined 76.65 million yuan ($12.5 million), the equivalent of three times its fee for acting as sponsor.