中国证监会稽查总队副总队长被抓
A third regulatory official involved in China’s initial public offerings has been arrested, throwing the highly politicised system for IPOs under further scrutiny.
参与中国首次公开发行(IPO)的监管官员已有第三人被捕，使高度政治化的IPO制度进一步受到各方关注。
The government’s tight grip over IPOs has long created incentives for corruption, as the fate of stock sales worth billions of dollars rests with low-paid civil servants. More than 600 companies are waiting for permission to debut on the Shanghai or Shenzhen stock exchanges, and wait times of more than a year are common.
政府对IPO的严格管控一直构成腐败诱因，因为巨额股票发售交易的命运由薪资不高的公务员掌握。目前有600余家企业等候在上海或深圳证交所上市的批准，一年以上的等待时间相当常见。
At least three officials involved in IPO approvals have been detained this year. Financial website Caixin reported late on Wednesday that Xi Longsheng, chief inspection officer at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, had been escorted from his office by investigators in recent days. He had previously served as section chief in the agency’s issuance department.
今年已有至少三名参与IPO审批的官员被拘留。据财经新闻网站财新网周三晚报道，中国证监会(CSRC)稽查总队副总队长习龙生近日被从办公室带走。他曾担任证监会发行部发审处处长。（注：上图为中国证监会位于北京的办公大楼）
“There are so many good reasons why companies and shareholders would bribe to make sure a listing went through. That seems to have been accepted practice with minimal clampdown,” said Fraser Howie, co-author of two books on China’s financial system.
“为了确保一笔上市交易畅通无阻，企业和股东有很多充分理由行贿。这似乎已成了被接受的做法，几乎没什么打击行动，”曾以中国金融体系为主题与人合著两本书的侯伟(Fraser Howie)表示。
“That will continue as long as you have this approval process. This is a clear example where the process is ultimately leading to the malfeasance.”
“只要你有这个审批过程，这种行为就会继续下去。这是一个说明流程最终导致不法行为的清晰例子。”
While at the issuance department, Mr Xi reported to Yao Gang, the department’s director, who was also an agency vice-chairman. Mr Yao was arrested last Friday, becoming the most senior financial regulatory official to be targeted in the anti-corruption probe. Another official from the issuance department, section chief Li Zhiling, was arrested in June.
在发行部工作时，习龙生向该部主任姚刚汇报。后来升任证监会副主席的姚刚，已在上周五被捕，成为在反腐败调查中落马的最高级别的金融监管官员。证监会另一名官员、发行监管部处长李志玲在6月被捕。
The securities regulator this month ended a freeze on IPO approvals implemented during the Chinese stock market’s dramatic tumble in July. The agency also said it would make changes to the approval process to give investors a greater say in which companies can sell shares, when and at what price.
中国证券监管机构本月结束了7月中国股市戏剧性暴跌期间采取的IPO审批冻结措施。该机构还表示，将改革审批过程，在哪些企业可以发售股票、何时发行以及发行价格等问题上给予投资者更大发言权。
Chinese premier Li Keqiang said last year that China would move towards a registration system for IPOs while phasing out the approval requirement. The CSRC said a year ago that draft rules for the new system were already complete, but the new system has not been implemented.
中国总理李克强去年曾表示，中国将逐渐过渡到一个IPO登记制度，同时淘汰审批规定。中国证监会一年前就表示新制度的规则已经草拟完毕，但迄今尚未落实新制度。
In addition to relaxing the CSRC’s grip on the flow of new IPOs, the new system is also expected to relax restrictions on pricing.
除了放松中国证监会对IPO的严格管控外，预计新制度还将放宽对定价的限制。
Currently, the agency imposes an unofficial cap on new share prices at 22 times historic earnings, sharply below current trading levels. That guarantees first-day pops for IPO shares, delivering risk-free profits to investors able to win allocations.
目前，该机构规定了新股定价22倍于历史盈利的非正式上限，远低于目前上市股票的市盈率。这确保了新股价格在上市首日飙涨，向那些有本事拿到额度的投资者输送无风险利润。
New shares sold in the first half of 2015 rose by an average of 2.5 times in the first 20 trading days after IPO, according to Credit Suisse.
瑞信(Credit Suisse)数据显示，2015年上半年发售的新股在IPO后头20个交易日平均上涨2.5倍。
Liu Xiaodan, president of Huatai United Securities, said in a speech that “distorting” prices in order to deliver profits to IPO investors was “like giving opium to a crying baby. There’s a lot of harm and hardly any benefit.”
华泰联合证券(Huatai United Securities)总裁刘晓丹在一次演讲中表示，以“扭曲价格”的方式让利给IPO投资者，好比“给哭闹的小孩吃鸦片，有百害而无一利”。
The CSRC did not respond to an email seeking comment. Mr Xi could not be reached for comment.
中国证监会没有回复记者请其置评的电子邮件。记者联系不上习龙生请其置评。
