Chinese police find signs of illegal share trading
Public security task force heads to Shanghaiin search of 'malicious short-sellers' as weary investors brace for another week of volatility
PUBLISHED : Monday, 13 July, 2015, 1:32am
UPDATED : Monday, 13 July, 2015, 9:14am
Daniel Ren and Enoch Yiu
The Ministry of Public Security has launched a task force to investigate "malicious short-selling". Photo: Xinhua
Mainland police have found "clues" of suspected manipulated trading in securities and index futures, which Beijing sees as one of the main drivers of the stock market rout over the last month, state media reported on Sunday.
The stepped-up investigation into market irregularities is the latest central government effort to end the market's roller-coaster ride but the outlook for this week remains uncertain amid a flood of trading resumptions.
The Ministry of Public Security sent a task force led by vice-minister Meng Qingfeng to the China Securities Regulatory Commission on Thursday morning, launching an all-out investigation into "malicious short-selling" after the key indicator nosedived more than 32 per cent in less than a month, a sharp fall likely to wreak havoc on the financial system and threatening to ignite social unrest.
Xinhua reported on Sunday that the task force arrived in Shanghai on Friday, suggesting that some of the trading firms suspected of manipulation would be named soon.
It said the team was still investigating and had clues that certain firms might have manipulated futures trades, without giving further details.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rebounded 10.6 per cent late last week, but lingering worries of a sell-off this week continued to weigh on the stock market.
As of Friday, trading in about 1,400 firms - nearly half of the total traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges - was suspended amid a bloodletting. By last night, about 260 had announced they would resume trading today, a move that would likely ratchet up liquidity pressure on the market.
"The outlook for the stock market in the coming week remains full of uncertainties," said Joseph Tong Tang, an executive director of Sun Hung Kai Financial. "I believe the wave of resumptions will lead to more volatility. It is going to be another volatile week ahead."
Between October and June 12, the main A-share indicator surged nearly 120 per cent, buoyed by margin loans estimated to be worth more than 4trillion yuan (HK$5 trillion).
The turmoil of the last few weeks prompted mainland authorities to take unprecedented steps to stabilise the markets.
The securities regulator said in a statement on Sunday that it would launch a national probe into brokerage accounts to weed out market manipulation, saying institutions using other identities to open accounts and trade shares for themselves would be punished.
Beijing's decision to send in the police underscored its determination to stem the market slide, observers said.
"The police have every reason for the crackdown, but obviously, investors are aware of the political implications of the investigation given the sensitive timing," said Shanghai-based lawyer Yan Yiming, who has represented hundreds of retail investors in a series of lawsuits.
Yan said malicious short-selling referred to illegal practices such as spreading rumours to induce panic selling, taking advantage of inside information to dump shares before others, colluding with other institutions in bulk share sell-offs to send down prices, and churning - selling and buying the same shares at affiliated accounts to rig prices.
Separately, the Cyberspace Administration of China ordered media organisations and online websites to remove all advertisements illegally promoting margin loans through the mainland grey market.