The CSRC will unveil capital market policies and measures during the forum, Wang Li, deputy director of the watchdog’s general administrative office, said at a briefing on Tuesday, without giving more specifics.
Wu has issued a series of market-boosting measures to halt a three-year decline in stocks since he took office. Investors have returned to Chinese stocks after measures aimed at boosting shareholder values, such as encouraging share buy-backs and dividend payouts and weeding out listed companies of low calibre. The CSI 300 Index has risen 13 per cent from a February low.
Also at the forum, CSRC’s vice-chairman, Fang Xinghai, and the chairman of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Qiu Yong, will discuss technology innovation and capital market development on the forum’s opening day, according to an agenda.
Some of Wu’s reform measures have already borne fruit. For example, new rules this year punish companies that skip dividend issuances, placing restrictions on refinancing and stake sales by big shareholders. As a result, mainland-listed companies paid a record 2.2 trillion yuan (US$304 billion) in dividends for last year, with the payout ratio reaching an all-time high of 39 per cent, according to Huaxi Securities.
The Lujiazui forum, started in 2008, is seen as a symbol of China’s financial reforms. The event will bring together about 70 speakers who will join eight plenary sessions on topics such as coordination of global monetary policy, innovation of green finance mechanism and the ageing economy. Officials from the People’s Bank of China, the National Administration of Financial Regulation, Hong Kong’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Monetary Authority of Singapore will also attend the gathering.
The CSRC and the Shanghai government will work out a coordination mechanism in the forum to entrench the city’s position as a global financial centre by capitalising on the capital market, according to the local government.