The chief of China’s largest brokerage firm is now being probed by authorities in the country, according to Kyoungwha Kim and Alfred Liu at Bloomberg.
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Among the key players in Beijing’s sights is Citic, where Cheng Boming, general manager and executive director and Wang Jinling, vice-manager of the IT centre, are both suspected of insider trading and leaking information, the company said.
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG Sept 16 (Reuters) – Shares in CITIC Securities, China’s biggest brokerage, fell on Wednesday after the company said some senior managers are under police investigation as part of a probe by Beijing into possible market manipulation linked to the slump in its stock markets.
The first signs of trouble came in June when the Shanghai Composite peaked at more than 5,100 points, a gain of roughly 150% over the previous 12 months.
Mainland Chinese shares have lost about 40% of their value since mid-June. A trading account of Citadel Securities was frozen last month by Shanghai stock regulators, who were eager to find the short sellers.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission, which polices the country’s markets, organized the purchase of shares using cash supplied by the central bank.
The brokerage has formed a core part of the so-called “national team”, a collection of state-linked banks, brokers and funds called on by Beijing to buy up shares and help stabilise equity markets following the sell-off. Concerns about the Chinese economy mean stocks are down 6% so far this week, with the drop worsened by thin trading volumes as many investors opt to stay on the sidelines. Its Shanghai-listed shares were down more than 1 per cent. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was up about 1 per cent in early trade.
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– Serena Dong contributed reporting.
