The crackdown continues in China as officials are obviously unhappy over how things are unfolding in domestic markets as of late. The report here highlights more unofficial measures taken up, one that I would label as off the books, as Beijing seeks to coerce market participants to side with how they want markets to behave.
It is said that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has checked with several major brokers on their short-selling activities in the past weeks. And that the trading strategies of their quant clients have also been probed. A source said that:
“They want to know the logic of the trading strategy, the source of the profit; under which situation you hold net long, or net short positions.. and the reason behind buy and sell orders.”
From last week: PBOC calls on banks to hold off on immediate dollar purchases – report