China’s securities regulator vows to strengthen investor protection, oversight of listed companies

China's securities regulator said on Wednesday that it will put investor interest first and foremost in equity market system design and regulation enforcement, and will continue to improve investor protection mechanism in a bid to build an open and fair market and legal environment that ensures fairness and transparency.

Wang Jianjun, vice chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), made the remarks after A-share indexes slumped to their three-year lows.

Following the official's comment, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index reversed decline on Wednesday to rally above the psychologically important 2,800-point mark as of 2:30 pm, up 1.26 percent. The Shenzhen Component Index rose by 0.31 percent to 8,623.02 at the same time.

Wang said the regulator shares "sincere empathy" with investors, as a volatile market has caused deep concerns among investors.

"We know very well that only when investors have a material sense of gain can the capital market has solid fundamentals for stable and healthy development, which would stabilize the market and investors' confidence," the official said in an article published on the CSRC website.

Wang said the commission is implementing a series of measures enacted at a recent State Council meeting to ensure the healthy and stable development of the capital market.

A meeting of the State Council, the cabinet, held on Monday pledged "stronger, more effective measures" to stabilize the market and improve investor confidence.

Wang said about 220 million individual investors have placed money in China's stock market, and they are "heroes" to the country's capital market development. "It's our huge responsibility to protect such a large number of investors," said the official, acknowledging the gap between the commission's efforts and investor expectations.

"We will make more efforts to put investor interest first. Only by offering sound protection to investors can the capital market has a root for prosperity. We will embed this idea into the whole process of market system design and regulation enforcement," Wang said.

Regarding specific measures, Wang said the authorities will strive to greatly improve the quality of listed companies, leverage the role of securities and fund firms, and improve basic institutional arrangements.

Pointing out that some listed companies lack integrity, with occasional incidents of infringing on the interests of investors that severely affects investors' confidence, Wang said the commission will ramp up supervision, especially targeting listed companies.

"By protecting investors and earnestly increasing their sense of gain, the Chinese stock market will leave behind the short-term volatility and return to a healthy and stable development track," Wang said.

"We firmly believe the prospect of the Chinese economy and Chinese stock market is bright," he said.