China securities regulator names new key department head

CHINA’S securities regulator has appointed a new head for its department leading talks aimed at resolving a lengthy US-China dispute over company auditing and also has oversight of Chinese companies’ offshore listings, two people told Reuters.

Huo Ruirong has been appointed director-general of the international affairs department at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said the two people, who have direct knowledge of the matter.

The department, the main regulator for domestic firms’ offshore listings, has been leading negotiations for a deal between China and the United States to end an auditing dispute which has been hanging over New York-listed Chinese firms for more than a decade.

US regulators gained “good access” in their review of auditing work done on New York-listed Chinese firms during a seven-week inspection, Reuters reported on Wednesday (Nov 16) – a key step forward to resolving the dispute.

Huo previously worked as general manager of China Financial Future Exchange, and is expected to start at the new post on Monday, one of the sources said.

He replaces former international department head Shen Bing, who completed his four-year term in mid-October and has now been named as director-general at the CSRC’s department of fund and intermediary supervision, according to the two sources and two other people with knowledge of the matter.

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The sources declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

In the new role, Shen will oversee the CSRC’s No 2 function after the department of public offering supervision, and will be in charge of licensing, including fund management and brokerage businesses of domestic and foreign firms.

CSRC did not respond to Reuters request for comment. Huo and Shen could not immediately be reached for comment.

A string of global financial institutions are seeking to enter or boost their footprint in China after the country relaxed foreign ownership rules in 2019, aiming to tap into its financial markets with trillions of US dollars of assets.

Currently, Credit Suisse, Fidelity and BNP Paribas are among a group applying for their respective licences to operate in China. REUTERS