Thursday 19 February 2009

CSRC Introduces Internal Election Process

A unique election at China’s securities regulatory agency has been held to fill three, mid-level executive positions.

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CSRC Introduces Internal Election Process

A unique election at China’s securities regulatory agency has been held to fill three, mid-level executive positions.

Qiao Xiaohui and Li Qing, Caijing
19 February 2009

For the first time, secret balloting and public disclosures of the winners’ backgrounds have been used in selecting new executives as part of a round of personnel changes at the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

An internal election was held February 9 to fill three ministerial positions: CSRC vice president, assistant president, and deputy secretary of the agency’s Communist Party standing committee.

All CSRC executives from mid-level positions and up (so-called “chu ji ganbu” positions) were allowed to cast ballots. Each voter technically could name his or her favorites for the jobs, without having to choose from an official candidate list.

The current deputy party secretary and vice president, Fan Fuchun, would be replaced by one of the winners after he retires due to age. Another vice president could be promoted to Fan’s position, and an assistant president could fill the vice presidential position left vacant.

A source told Caijing that “if there are no surprises, the current top-ranking vice president, Gui Minjie, will become deputy secretary, and the top assistant president, Liu Xinhua, will take Gui’s post as a new vice president.”

Gui currently oversees CSRC’s fund management division, and Liu is in charge of the general office of the party committee.

All mid-level officials had a chance to vie for the position of assistant president. The election confirmed Fan’s successor would be chosen from inside the agency, countering previous expectations that his replacement would come from outside CSRC.

A knowledgeable source said election winners eventually would be confirmed by the CSRC party committee and the party’s Central Organization Department.

The source also said results would be released to the public and appointments made about a month later – steps not usually taken when deputy ministerial level positions are filled.

“To put it simply, this step is to give the public a chance to report misconduct,” said a knowledgeable source at CSRC.

An industry expert added that, “China’s capital market is a hotbed for corruption, so it is crucial to have information disclosure before naming officials.”

According to the official newspaper People’s Daily, information to be revealed to the public will include an election winner’s name, gender, birth date, place of birth, education and a professional biography. The release usually lasts for seven to 15 days via newspaper, television, radio.

In supervising the securities market, CSRC has access to capital market secrets and internal company information. Thus, its managers have enormous responsibilities and must maintain a high degree of credibility.

Since the agency was founded, CSRC officials in the headquarters have been prosecuted for bribery and corruption in connection with three cases. These are the cases of Wang Xiaoshi, former CSRC official with the Department of Public Offering Supervision, and Lu Xiaolong and Zhong Zhiwei, former executives with the Department of Listed Company Supervision.

In addition, Gao Yong, who received a suspended death sentence, was convicted for taking bribes totalling 9.55 million yuan while serving as correspondent inspector at the Chengdu and Guiyang’s securities bureau from 1999 to 2000.

The most recent bribery case involves a former CSRC official who went on to become a deputy president at the policy bank China Development Bank. Wang Yi, who served as CSRC vice chairman at CSRC from 1995 until 1999, was removed from the bank last year and formally charged January 22.