中國政府調查多家頂級券商

Chinese authorities have launched a fresh crackdown on financial market malpractice, putting five of the country’s top brokerages under investigation amid the steepest slide in domestic stock markets in almost two decades.

在中國A股遭遇近20年來最劇烈暴跌之際，中國當局啓動了對金融市場營私舞弊行爲的新一輪打擊，對五家頂級券商開展了調查。

Haitong Securities, GF Securities, Huatai Securities and Founder Securities all issued statements confirming that they being probed by the China Securities Regulatory Commission for “failure to review and verify the identity of clients in accordance with rules”.

海通證券(Haitong Securities)、廣發證券(GF Securities)、華泰證券(Huatai Securities)及方正證券(Founder Secuirties)都發布了聲明，確認正因“未按規定審查、瞭解客戶身份”接受中國證監會(CSRC)的調查。

Haitong said that it would “fully co-operate” with the regulator, and that its business was continuing to operate normally, in a statement to the Hong Kong bourse.

在一份向香港股市發佈的聲明中，海通證券表示將“全面配合”監管機構的調查工作，並表示其業務正繼續正常運行。

In a separate investigation, eight people connected to Citic Securities, the country’s largest broker, are being probed by Chinese police for “illegal securities trading”, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, along with people linked to the CSRC itself.

而在另一起案件中，根據中國官方新聞機構新華社(Xinhua)的報道，及證監會相關人士的說法，與中國最大券商中信證券(Citic Securities)有關的8人，正因“違法從事證券交易活動”遭到中國警方調查。

Citic said it had “not received any notification” on the investigation. “We are in the process of gathering more information on this matter,” the company added.

中信證券則表示，關於調查“未收到任何通知”。該公司補充說：“相關情況正在瞭解之中。”

Shares in the four companies listed in Hong Kong rose sharply on Wednesday morning, with Citic gaining 4.1 per cent and GF Securities adding 4.7 per cent. Founder, which is listed only in Shanghai, edged up 0.3 per cent.

週三，四家在港上市的券商各有漲跌，其中中信證券收跌2.3%，廣發證券則收漲4.7%。至於僅在滬市上市的方正證券，雖然早盤曾略有上漲，卻收跌4.3%。

China’s financial market regulator has been at the forefront of Beijing’s efforts to halt a dramatic slide in domestic share prices. After hitting a seven-year high in mid-June, the Shanghai stock index has dropped more than 40 per cent, erasing all this year’s gains.

中國金融市場監管機構一直處於中國政府救市的最前沿。這輪救市的目的是爲了阻止A股股價的急劇下滑。自6月中旬達到7年內最高點之後，滬市股指已經跌去逾40%，抹去了今年全年漲幅。

This week the sell-off has gathered pace, with the Shanghai Composite suffering its steepest two-day drop since 1996, in spite of a raft of measures over the past month aimed at steadying the market.

儘管過去一個月中國政府推出了一系列旨在穩定股市的舉措，本週這種拋售行爲還是愈演愈烈，上證綜指(Shanghai Composite)遭遇了1996年來的最大兩日跌幅。

The People’s Bank of China cut interest rates again on Tuesday evening, the second such move in the past two months, and the fifth since November.

週二晚上，中國央行(PBoC)再次降息，這是過去兩個月來第二次推出這一舉措，也是自去年11月以來的第5次。

The latest regulatory and police probes follow steps in June to tackle “malicious short-selling” and market manipulation linked to the rapid decline in Chinese stock prices.

在監管機構和警方最近這次調查以前，6月份它們還曾採取過措施，打擊引發中國股價暴跌的“惡意做空”和市場操縱行爲。

One of the most drastic supportive measures is a ban on stake sales by major shareholders and company executives. In the weeks since its introduction, the CSRC has launched investigations into dozens of companies for allegedly skirting the new rules.

其中，力度最大的託市舉措之一，是禁止大股東和企業高管減持股票。在作出這一規定以來的幾周裏，中國證監會已啓動了對數十家企業的調查，調查其涉嫌規避這些新規定的行爲。

The CSRC has also warned media about spreading false information, and turned its attentions to high frequency traders in recent weeks, part of a broad effort to soothe fears within financial markets over possible price manipulation.

最近幾周，中國證監會還曾警告媒體不要擴散虛假信息，並將注意力轉向開展高頻交易的交易人員，以緩和金融市場內對可能的價格操縱行爲的擔憂情緒。

Earlier this year, the CSRC barred a number of brokers from opening new margin trading accounts for a period of three months, following a probe into high-risk lending.

今年早些時候，在對高風險的融資活動開展調查之後，證監會還曾令多家券商暫停新開融資融券賬戶三個月。

Margin finance — the use of borrowed money to trade shares — was a key driving force behind the stock market rally in Chinese over the past year. Many analysts see the government’s attempts to crack down on it as one of the main triggers for the sell-off.

融資業務即借錢炒股業務，是過去一年裏推升中國股市上漲的一個關鍵因素。許多分析師認爲，中國政府試圖打壓融資融券，是這輪股市拋售行爲的主要導火索之一。