Securities officials should go all out to guarantee a stable operation of China's capital market during the Olympic Games, China Securities Regulatory Commission's Chairman Shang Fulin has urged.

The market environment has become more complicated with the Olympic Games about to kick off next Friday, Shang said during a three-day securities and futures regulatory meeting in Beijing, according to Caijing Magazine yesterday.

He said the securities trading system was hacked recently and some illegal ads placed in the system.

Also, Shang required officials not to make casual comments on unsettled policies to avoid risking disturbing the market. The regulatory mission was an arduous task during the Olympics, he said.

He also demanded officials give priority to developing fixed-income products such as corporate bonds to limit risks, and roll out a steady preparation for the launch of a growth board and index futures.

"A healthy bond market can reduce the cost of raising capital for companies. The development of direct financing, such as corporate bonds, can lift up the efficiency of allocating social funds," said Shang.

In the first half of this year, China's brokerage firms made a profit of 32.2 billion yuan (US$4.73 billion) and their revenues amounted to 76 billion yuan. By June, the assets under securities firms reached 1.6 trillion yuan, according to Caijing Magazine.

(Shanghai Daily July 30, 2008)