2014 marked the year for the reform and innovation of China’s capital market, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) seized the opportunity to launch wider changes and achieve leaping progress. While sticking to the developing strategies of the blue chip market, the bond market, the derivatives market and internationalization, we placed emphasis on protecting, instructing and serving investors by promoting such innovative businesses as Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and stock option. With the incoming International Consumer Rights Day on March 15, the SSE provided activities like inviting legal experts to air their opinions and suggestions about “Regulating the Capital Market by Law and Improving Protection of Investors’ Rights”, in a bid to improve the long-term mechanism for protecting investors’ rights in the securities market. Here is our briefing for all investors.
“I’m a Shareholder” re-launched to prop up investors’ protection
To usher in the International Consumer Rights Day on March 15, the SSE gave a symposium for small and medium-sized investors and a launching ceremony for the 2015 “I’m a Shareholder” activity, in which prize winners from more than 40 securities companies and their business departments, Bright Dairy, as the representative of listed companies, representative individual investors, and 10-odd financial and economic media participated.
The activity “I’m a Shareholder” is intended to take investors’ advice, reflect investors’ wishes, smooth the communication between investors and listed companies, and improve investor relationship management of listed companies. It’s not only a responsibility that listed companies should observe for the interests of investors, but also a historical mission that SSE shoulders for promoting the standardized development of the capital market and protecting the legal rights and interests of investors.
After run for two consecutive years, the activity has won the applause of minority investors as well as the recognition of listed companies, securities companies and the media. Now this campaign was restarted and online mass selection was unveiled on March 16.
Liu Shi’an, Deputy President of the SSE, remarked that the success of the activity must be attributed to the efforts of all parties involved. The SSE will continue the momentum of the activity by perfecting supporting measures with the support of all parties concerned and making it a regular activity to show the resolve of the exchange in fulfilling investors’ protection.
In the event of 2015, last year’s mode of “investors selecting listed companies by voting, and visiting listed companies under organization by the SSE”, as well as new mechanisms that allow listed companies to recommend themselves to the SSE and securities companies to hold the activity with the SSE will co-exist. Meanwhile, the SSE is attempting to integrate “I’m a Shareholder” activity with company listing ceremony, so that investors can have the opportunity of visiting more newly listed companies.
In addition, in the current system framework, Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect realizes the interconnection between Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges, so that SSE is gradually making itself an essential part of the international market. By virtue of this opportunity, “I’m a Shareholder” shall further extend its content to provide investors with direct information of companies engaged in Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and facilitate the communication between mainland investors and overseas market investors.
In the symposium, the SSE also commended and granted awards to outstanding securities companies, business departments of securities companies and individual investors. Participants exchanged ideas as to the running of “I’m a Shareholder” and investors’ service and protection, and pleaded for further investment to improve infrastructure and system support in this aspect, so that its pertinence and efficiency can be enhanced. They also looked forward to more opportunities for experience demonstration and exchange in the trade granted by the SSE, in order to promote the mechanism for communication between investors and listed companies.
Prize-winning securities companies are listed below:
Outstanding Organization Prize for “I’m a Shareholder”
| No. |
Winners
|
|
1
|
Datong Securities
|
|
2
|
Northeast Securities
|
|
3
|
Oriental Securities
|
|
4
|
Guangzhou Securities
|
|
5
|
Haitong Securities
|
|
6
|
Huatai Securities
|
|
7
|
Huaxi Securities
|
|
8
|
Huaxin Securities
|
|
9
|
Qilu Securities
|
|
10
|
Xiamen Securities
|
|
11
|
Shanxi Securities
|
|
12
|
Shanghai Securities
|
|
13
|
Shenwan Hongyuan Securities
|
|
14
|
Western Securities
|
|
15
|
Xinda Securities
|
|
16
|
Galaxy Securities
|
|
17
|
China Securities
|
|
18
|
CITIC Securities
|
|
19
|
China Post Securities
|
|
20
|
Zhongyuan Securities
|
Award Nominations of Outstanding Organization for “I’m a Shareholder”
|
No.
|
Winners
|
|
1
|
Bohai Securities
|
|
2
|
Chuancai Securities
|
|
3
|
Dongguan Securities
|
|
4
|
Soochow Securities
|
|
5
|
GF Securities
|
|
6
|
Guodu Securities
|
|
7
|
Guotai Junan Securities
|
|
8
|
Huaan Securities
|
|
9
|
Huarong Securities
|
|
10
|
Kaiyuan Securities
|
|
11
|
Lianxun Securities
|
|
12
|
Xiangcai Securities
|
|
13
|
Industrial Securities
|
|
14
|
Great Wall Securities
|
|
15
|
Changjiang Securities
|
|
16
|
China Merchants Securities
|
|
17
|
Zheshang Securities
|
|
18
|
China Investment Securities
|
|
19
|
Stockren Securities
|
|
20
|
CITIC Securities (Zhejiang)
|
Cluster all consensuses to jointly promote the protection of investors’ rights and interests under the circumstances of reform and innovation of securities market
The “March 15 Seminar of Investor Education and Protection of Investors’ Rights and Interests” was organized by the SSE in Beijing recently to fully carry out the legal publicity for the protection of investors’ rights and interests and boost the work of investor education and protection of investors’ rights and interest in the securities markets. It was attended by nearly 50 people including heads of Investor Protection Bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited, Guo Li, Deputy Director of School of Law of Peking University, and heads of 31 securities dealers from 21 provinces (or autonomous regions, or municipalities).
Regulatory bodies, market entities and law experts had in-depth discussions over the theme of “promote rule of law in capital market, optimize protection of investors’ rights and interests” on the basis of the securities market’s reform and innovation, and consensuses were reached in such aspects as protection of investors’ rights and interests and in-depth investor education.
Liu Shi’an, Deputy President of the SSE, said at the meeting that the building and improvement of the multi-level market requires comprehensive involvement of investors. Investors, especially small-and-medium-sized investors, are in a weak status in the process of industry development and innovation, which makes the protection of investors’ rights and interests necessary and requires us to take investor protection and investor education as priorities to have the protection to match with the market development. Currently, the environment of rule of law in the securities market is being perfected, but it is still difficult for investors to defend their rights and interests through legal means. We believe that these issues will be solved with the progress of such work as amending the “Securities Law”. Against the backdrop of the on-going reform and innovation in the securities industry and the steady promotion of regulatory transformation, market entities should remember to enhance the protection of investors’ rights and interests through such measures as investor education to facilitate further development of the securities market and have the securities industry to serve the real economy. The SSE will take advantage of its self-regulatory function to carry out the unified deployment of the CSRC so as to cooperate with various bodies to promote investor education and the protection of investors’ rights and interests on the basis of the function of exchange and its positioning.
Liu Lei, Director of Investor Protection Bureau of the CSRC, and Professor Guo Li from School of Law of Peking University gave lectures on handling of investors’ complaints and innovating the dispute settlement mechanism of investors. Liu Lei pointed out that the development of market would lead to complex financial products and enhance the asymmetry of institutions and investors, which would cause disputes. Last year, the CSRC, securities regulatory bureaus, exchanges, and members of associations handled huge amount of investor complaints. They also provided cross-border complaint handling service for investors of Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect to further meet their demands. In 2015, we will continue to carry out the requirements of the regulatory meeting, be investor-oriented, and focus on solving the actual issues of investors, trying to make breakthroughs in dispute settlement; besides, we will enhance the function of investor education and perfect the system of supervision and evaluation, so as to consolidate investor protection during the regulatory transformation.
Professor Guo Li mentioned in his lecture that since individual investors constitute the majority of the market, it is determined that the current and future markets will have a large number of disputes caused by securities investment, which will have significant social impacts. The delay of dispute settlement would have negative impacts in investors’ rights and interests and securities dealers’ businesses. Currently, the number of traditional legal suit channels could not match the demand for protecting securities investors. To settle the disputes efficiently and promptly for solving conflicts and better protecting investors, especially small-and-medium-sized investors, a diversified dispute settlement mechanism should be built, with non-lawsuit solution ways for disputes to be explored as well.
Huatai Securities and China Securities gave introductions on investor education and the building of the mechanism of investor protection, relevant key points and features on the basis of the development of the market and their innovative businesses; they have been adhering to the principle of being “customer-centered” and have as their key task in investor protection the combination of “Business Development” and “Right Defending”. GF Securities suggested enhancing risk alert in securities investment to remind investors of being aware of risks. In addition, disputes with investors should be properly handled to improve its services for investors. China Merchants Securities, on the basis of its experiences in the businesses of Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and stock option, held that the training of securities employees should be strengthened to develop an atmosphere of compliance and enhance the communication with investors by organizing investor education and investor protection in various forms. According to Xiangcai Securities, the transparency of the securities market should be further enhanced, and securities companies’ function should be exerted as a major force of investor education and protection, thus cultivating more “qualified investors” for the market innovation.
This seminar is an innovative campaign organized by the SSE on the basis of past experiences and market opinions to promote investor education and protection of investors’ rights and interests in the securities market, with the securities market development and innovation and the regulatory system reform as the theme. The aim is to cluster all consensuses and market forces to jointly promote the further development of the protection of investors’ rights and interests.
