China's securities regulator goes ahead with audit reform for funds

China’s securities regulator has announced plans to step up its reform of auditing practices in the funds industry, with a view to implementing a comprehensive audit system reform in China's funds sector. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said the audit reform was necessary to support fund management companies’ rapid development and broaden the sector’s products. The reform is expected to include measures to simplify auditing procedures, amend audit procedures and to introduce online auditing of fund products.

The CSRC said the reform would cancel a previous audit channel, and companies would be able to report directly back to the CSRC about the availability of their fund products according to market demand.

The CSRC also said the audit period would be shortened, and conventional products should be audited within 20 working days. Conventional products include common equity or hybrid securities, bond funds, index funds, money market funds, seed funds, Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) products and single-market exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

To read more, please visit:

http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=161020&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Proposed new funds regulations will raise compliance standards in China, says lawyer

Proposed new Chinese regulations allowing a wider range of companies to manage funds will require higher compliance standards and more resources to be allocated internally to compliance, said a Beijing lawyer. In a recent regulatory consultation, China’s securities regulator said entities such as securities companies, insurance fund management companies and private securities fund management institutions would be allowed to develop and manage mutual funds that solicit investment from the public.

TieCheng Yang, a partner at Clifford Chance in Beijing, told Compliance Complete that the move would impose further compliance requirements on the companies affected.

"From a compliance perspective, the newly-permitted asset managers, including private fund managers, securities companies and insurance fund management companies, shall be subject to additional compliance requirements under the new rules and other laws, such as the amended Securities Investment Funds Law and regulations applicable to the management of publicly-raised funds," said Yang.

To read more, please visit:

http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=161118&bulletin=news&region=_10115