【Financial Str. Release】SSE solicits opinions on corp bond issuance, listing examination rules

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China's Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) announced to solicit public opinions over four sets of rules including the corporate bond (corp bond) issuance and listing examination rules from Thursday, reported Xinhua-run Xinhua Finance.

SSE took the move, effective until June 3, after China's securities watchdog amended the corporate bond issuance and transaction management rules earlier this year to streamline and regulate registration-based corporate bond issuance related affairs.

Apart from the newly-drafted examination rules, the bourse unveiled its revised corp bond listing rules, non-publicly offered corp bond transfer rules and investor suitability management rules for public opinions on Thursday.

According to SSE, the examination rules are basic rules that provide the content, procedures, and self-regulation requirements for corp bond issuance and listing examination on the bourse. 

Under the examination rules, SSE applies classified management over corp bond listing and transactions. In details, the bourse adopts differentiated trading mechanisms and investor suitability rules. During the listing period of corp bonds, the related trading mechanisms, investor suitability and information disclosure arrangements can also be flexibly adjusted.

It is amending and optimizing its existing rules at the same time, further defining the examination standards and procedures for corp bond issuance and listing, formulating the referential text for key articles in corp bond prospectuses, and further clarifying information disclosure related requirements to establish an information disclosure-centered examination rules framework.

SSE said the public opinion inviting for these rules aimed at strengthening the role of corp bonds in direct financing to better serve the real economy and protect the rights and interests of investors.

Previously from March 1, 2020, registration-based issuance for corp bonds has been applied in China. Last year, SSE witnessed issuance of 3.6 trillion yuan of corp bond issues.