CX Daily: China’s Securities Firms Rein In Pay Packets as Pressures Mount
TOP STORIES
Securities?/
Although Chinese securities firms’ pay packets are still among the highest in the country, they are now in the shadow of an industrywide pay cut , under pressure from the government to rein in excessive remuneration and hobbled by a tightened regulatory grip on IPOs amid an ailing stock market.
“In the wake of losses in the first half of last year, the research department (of a major securities company) started to cut salaries across the board and lay off staff in a roundabout way,” a former employee of the department told Caixin. “The unit originally had more than 200 people, but now has only about 150.” ?
Personnel?/
Lu Kang, a veteran diplomat who served as Chinese ambassador to Indonesia until recently, has been named the vice minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee (IDCPC), the party’s arm in charge of external relations.
Lu is listed as one of the four vice ministers of the IDCPC on the department’s website updated this week. The position was vacated by Guo Yezhou, who was transferred to serve as the deputy chief of the Foreign Affairs Commission under the CPC Central Committee. ?
FINANCE & ECONOMY
Disclosure?/
China’s top securities regulator is expected to tighten oversight of yet another dodgy practice where listed companies hire consulting firms to help them fulfill information disclosure obligations — and sometimes get around the rules.
The issue, which can lead to regulatory arbitrage and insider trading, has long evaded regulatory scrutiny, but an investigation into the service is currently underway. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) stepped up restrictions on former employees who left the regulatory system to start their own businesses, including consultancies, back in 2021.? ?
Fiscal?/
Both China’s national fiscal revenue and its land sale revenue continued to decline in April as the real estate downturn showed no sign of recovery.
The national fiscal revenue fell by 3.7% year-on-year in April, 1.3 percentage points larger than the fall in March, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance Monday. ?
Green bonds?/
China led the world in green bond issuance for the second consecutive year in 2023, with a total of $131 billion for both the onshore and offshore markets, according to a report released Friday.
The amount nearly doubled that of the No. 2 nation, Germany, according to the report by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), an international nonprofit organization. ?
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Quick hit?/
BUSINESS & TECH
Nongfu Spring?/
Nongfu Spring Co. Ltd. (农夫山泉股份有限公司) said Monday it has taken legal action against people that it accused of spreading false rumors about its founder and products, following a widespread boycott of the Chinese beverage giant in late February.
The Hangzhou-based drinks-maker, known for its eponymous bottled water, was thrust into a firestorm of online anger on Feb. 25, after its billionaire founder Zhong Shanshan attended a memorial service for Zong Qinghou, founder of rival Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co. Ltd., who died that month . ?
E-bike?/
Beijing is to become the first major city to promote shared electric bicycles. It is launching a pilot program over a 65.7 square kilometer area in a southeast suburb starting on May 30.
The program aims to explore the feasibility of shared electric bikes as a safe and convenient travel option for citizens, said Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. ?
Quick hits?/
Daily Tech Roundup?/
Long Read?/
GALLERY
Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s number two figure after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a helicopter crash in Iran's northwestern border province of East Azerbaijan on Monday. Raisi had presided over the country’s domestic and foreign affairs since 2021, and was widely supported by Iran's hardline conservatives.