China's securities regulator hands out more fines in H1

BEIJING — China's securities regulator has handed out more fines in the first half of this year to punish market violations amid tightened financial supervision.

In the first half of 2017, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has given fines totalling 6.36 billion yuan ($938.8 million), up 149 percent year-on-year, the CSRC said on its website.

A total of 30 people were suspended from securities businesses in the first half, almost on par with the number of the whole year of 2016, the regulator said.

During the period, the CSRC has dealt with 24 cases of violations in information disclosure, 24 cases of insider trading, and 14 cases of market manipulation.

"Supervision and law enforcement apply to all fields, all links of businesses, and all market players. There is no blind spot in the net of justice, and for criminals, there is nowhere to hide," the CSRC said in a statement.

The CSRC has been toughening supervision and punishment of illegal market activities as the country stepped up crackdown on financial risks this year.

Financial regulators have rolled out a string of tightening measures targeting shadow banking and other undesirable practices.