China introduces new rules for brokerages to combat stock market rout
China's regulator for securities has issued new rules for brokerage firms as part of its attempt to stabilise markets following a spate of sell-offs that wiped trillions of dollars worth of value from Chinese equities.
Read more: How China has tried to calm stock market chaos
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has instructed brokerages to provide stricter proof of identification on holders of securities accounts to prevent investors controlling or sharing multiple accounts.
Investors will have to provide their real names and national ID numbers as part of the new rules.
In a statement the CSRC said:
Some institutional or individual investors hold 'virtual' securities accounts or trade with borrowed accounts. As real-name registration is required by the law, this illicit conduct may damage other investors' legitimate interests.
The government of the world's second-largest economy has issued a series of other measures to combat serious hemorrhages on the Shanghai Stock Exchange resulting in losses exceeding the GDP of France and Mexico.
Initial public offerings have been suspended and shareholders with five per cent or more of a company's stock have been banned from selling for six months in a bid to stablise the market.