A retail investor was fined 1.76 million yuan (US$241,095) for stock market manipulation, the first case made public after China's regulators vowed to crack down mal-practices in the market.

 

The China Securities Regulatory Commission said that an individual investor, Zhou Jianming, also had his illegal earnings of 1.76 million yuan from the stock market manipulation confiscated.

 

On June 26 last year, Zhou offered to buy 40.09 million shares of Datong Coal Industry Co Ltd 61 times within an hour. He raised his offer price to 10.59 yuan from 10.22 yuan per share during the period to mislead other investors and bloated the share price.

 

Using the same method, Zhou then made an illegal profit of 1.76 million yuan from manipulating share prices of another 14 companies through November last year, said the securities regulator, who did not release Zhou's personal information.

 

Zhou's case is the first to be disclosed publicly after the regulators on Sunday posted a notice that it would further strengthen efforts to combat illegal securities business.

 

Jointly issued by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security and the CSRC, the notice said they will together fight against mal-practices in the stock market.

 

The notice reiterated that companies or corporate shareholders are not allowed to transfer shares to retail investors without approval.

 

The notice said the CSRC accepted 1,400 claims of illegal securities transactions last year, and 366 of them were passed to public security agencies. So far, eight key cases have been solved with the arrest of 48 people and the closure of 19 firms.

 

It is expected that more alleged illegal dealers will be put under judicial scrutiny this year, the notice said.

 

(Shanghai Daily January 8, 2008)