China's top legislative body is expected to review draft amendments to the Securities Law at the end of the year to tackle problems arising in the market and to better comply with World Trade Organization (WTO) requirements.

It is on this year's legislative agenda, which was approved by the chairman and vice-chairpersons of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee yesterday.

The nation's securities market is plagued by such problems as falsified disclosure, insider trading and encroachment of the rights and interests of medium and small shareholders, according to the findings of an inspection tour sponsored by the Ninth NPC Standing Committee in 2001.

The planned revision of the 1999 Securities Law will improve provisions concerning securities issuance and the supervision of listed companies, according to NPC sources.

In addition, the lawmakers will make a second round of deliberations on the draft law on securities investment funds at the latest bimonthly session of the NPC Standing Committee, which will be held next week.

The draft is expected to expand access to public investment in the stock market, fuel more institutional investment and bring more order to the securities market, according to a source with the NPC Financial and Economic Committee.

The newly adopted agenda includes 13 pieces of legislation with specific schedules and 30 optional pieces of legislation.

Lawmakers are expected to review amendments to the laws on the central bank and commercial banks in August to make the institutions more flexible for the country's financial development and reform.

They are likely to review a draft law on electronic signatures in October to nail down the legitimacy of the signatures and support the development of the nation's e-commerce and e-government sectors.

The 30 optional pieces of legislation on the agenda include the draft law on tangible properties, a major section of the country's first draft civil code which was preliminarily reviewed by lawmakers at the end of last year.

In the wake of SARS, the committee is expected to review draft amendments to the law on the prevention and control of contagious diseases.

It will also review draft amendments to the law on the protection of wild animals, given the possibility of the transmission of the flu-like virus from wild animals to humans.