China regulator to punish those involved in market manipulation

BEIJING: Facing flak over a recent stock- market crash that triggered a global panic, China's securities regulator today said it will punish those involved in 12 cases of market manipulation, with fines totalling $315 million.

The cases, involving price manipulation through various channels, have exacerbated the ups and downs in the recent market rout, Deng Ge, spokesman of China Securities Regulatory Commission, told reporters.

One case involved an overseas firm using the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor ( QFII) programme to manipulate prices, state-run Xinhua news agency cited Deng as saying.

He did not give other details.

China's stockmarket experienced a dramatic summer that saw the key stock index plunge over 40 per cent from its June peak of 5,166 points.

More than 20 million small investors quit the market after heavy losses. The worst crash since 2007 wiped out over $3.2 trillion of investors money.

The wild swings have continued despite government efforts to restore confidence.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.3 per cent to end at 3,412.43 points today, while the Shenzhen Component Index rose 2.64 per cent to close at 11,603.46 points.