By Jin Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-01-15 09:19

Taking a leaf out of Hong Kong's book, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) is expected to revise its trading suspension rules, which will help the market work more efficiently.

The government's efforts to root out irregularities in the stock market have increasingly drawn investors' attention to the shortcomings of the information disclosure rules. Trading suspension is an essential step in the process of information disclosure.

A report by the SSE and Hong Kong's Taifook Securities Group said frequent and lengthy trading suspensions and insufficient penalties for violators are the major problems of the SSE's current trading rules.

The report recommends streamlining the trading suspension rules, enhancing the supervision on market irregularities and information disclosure, and demanding companies speed up disclosure.

"This research can help improve the information disclosure rules and ensure justice, fairness and openness in the market," said Wu Feng, an analyst at TX Investment Consulting Co Ltd.

The report said SSE can follow the Hong Kong model by setting up a time limit for listed companies to disclose information before triggering a trading suspension. This can ensure continuous trading and fairness in information disclosure, it said.

The stock exchange can define what constitutes irregular trading by establishing a specific level of turnover within a certain period of time before requiring the suspension of trading in a particular stock.

"The stock exchange should demand an explanation from the management of a company in case of irregular trading and require a suspension in trading when no satisfactory explanation is given within a specific time," said the report.

The SSE can also create a simultaneous trading suspension mechanism for "A+H" companies. For example, it can share disclosure information with the Hong Kong stock exchange and act accordantly in cases of unexpected events.

For companies that prolong the suspension period to avoid the risk of being expelled from the market, the report said the SSE should set up a disclosure system during the trading suspension period. That can help investors know the company's state and the possible time for resumption of trading, it said.