Beijing has become increasingly worried about the sell-off on markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong, which has wiped trillions off valuations, and has unveiled a string of measures to try to staunch the rout.
And on Wednesday, state broadcaster CCTV said the top leadership of the ruling Communist Party removed Yi Huiman from his position as chief of China's Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the country's top financial regulator.
That came a day after, according to Bloomberg, leader Xi Jinping was due to meet with regulators to discuss efforts to lift the markets.
Yi, a former chairman of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, was appointed to the top job at CSRC in January 2019.
Yi had replaced Liu Shiyu, who was dismissed and investigated for "violations of laws and discipline", according to state media.
Last year, China recorded one of its lowest growth rates in three decades -- 5.2 percent -- according to an official figure that some economists are sceptical of.
The country has been hammered by a crippling property crisis, sluggish consumption and global turmoil, and officials have been under pressure to unveil more stimulus measures to kickstart business activity and get consumers spending again.
China's economy enjoyed an initial post-pandemic rebound, but ran out of steam within months last year, as a lack of confidence among households and businesses hit consumption.
On Tuesday, stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai soared after Central Huijin Investment -- the unit that holds Chinese government stakes in major financial institutions -- said it would increase investments in funds.
That was followed by an announcement from the CSRC that it would urge more action from long-term funds and call on listed firms to ramp up re-purchase.
Shanghai stocks extended their rally Wednesday on hopes for more Chinese measures in support of the battered markets.
China hands former top bank boss suspended death sentence for bribery
Beijing (AFP) Feb 5, 2024 -
The former head of a large state-backed Chinese bank was given a suspended death sentence for bribery on Monday, state media reported, the latest ruling in a crackdown on corruption in the finance sector.
China's President Xi Jinping has waged a sweeping campaign against deep-seated official corruption since coming to power a decade ago, though critics say the policy has helped him purge political rivals.
On Monday Tian Huiyu, the former president of China Merchants Bank, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve -- after which the punishment may be converted to life imprisonment.
Tian was found guilty of "accepting bribes", state broadcaster CCTV reported, as well as decades of "abusing state-owned company staff power, trading on undisclosed information, insider trading, and leaking inside information".
Tian first came under public investigation in April 2022, as the anti-graft campaign turned its focus to some of the country's leading financiers.
In December Zhou Qingyu, a former vice president of the China Development Bank, was arrested under suspicion of accepting bribes.
In January, the former chairman of state-owned Chinese banking giant Everbright Group was arrested on suspicion of corruption and bribery.
Also last month, He Xingxiang -- a former top executive at China Development Bank -- was given 20 years in jail for bribery.
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