The chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), Xiao Gang, has been dismissed from his position in the agency. CSRC was China's top securities regulator, which has been facing criticism over the year as the people place the blame on the regulator for amplifying the country's financial problems and failing to help restore the country's market turbulence.
The decision was made by China's ruling party, the Communist Party of China. The party's central committee, alongside the State Council, also appointed Liu Shiyu as the new chairman and party leader of the commission. Liu Shiyu is currently the chairman of the Agricultural Bank of China.
The New York Times explained why the CSRC was widely blamed for China's markets problems. Share prices in the country had more than doubled in a year, partly because the regulators allowed a speculative bubble to form in the markets. That hurt stocks owners across the country. After the incident, the regulator unveiled two measures to stabilize stocks. Unfortunately, the measures were also believed to have caused a weeklong rout in the country's stock markets. Consequently, that unsettled investors around the world.
According to CNN Money, The Shanghai Composite has dropped 19 percent after the regulator implemented a measure that was meant to protect small investors from big market swings. However, it created panic-selling and eventually had to be withdrawn. The crash of the composite wiped out about a third of its value in less than a month. On the other hand, The Shenzhen Composite is down 20 percent over the year.
The decision to replace the CSRC chairman has received various responses. Some believe that merely substituting one head of regulator to another will not solve any problem. Others had their hopes up for a positive change in the hands of the new chairman, Liu Shiyu.
The fact remains that Liu Shiyu is an expert banker with vast experiences in finance. The Financial Times noted that the new chief, being a former central banker, is likely to focus on structural changes. The changes will reflect the regulator's determination to develop the stock market as a more viable fundraising tool for companies, rather than a scheme to get rich quickly for retail punters, analysts say.
Liu Shiyu, as China's new chairman for the country's main securities regulator, will face a crucial task and challenge to revive China's stock markets which have been suffering over the year. Previously, the agency was widely blamed for magnifying the market turbulence as it failed to rule out efficient measures to address the market problems.
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