There is new news about the reform of the stock issuance registration system

　　According to Xinhua Viewpoint, the stock issuance registration system is a seemingly very professional term, but it is familiar to those who care about the stock market. For a period of time, it was the focus of market attention and once caused quite a stir. In recent years, due to various reasons, this term has gradually faded from people's sight.

　　On the 23rd, a draft decision submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress brought the registration system reform back into the public eye.

　　The authorization period for the registration system reform is extended to 2020.

　　On the 23rd, the "Decision (Draft) on Extending the Authorization for the State Council to Adjust the Application of Relevant Provisions of the Securities Law of the People's Republic of China in Implementing the Stock Issuance Registration System Reform" was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for review, proposing to extend the related authorization by another two years, until February 29, 2020.

　　This long statement essentially means that the original deadline allowing a breakthrough in the Securities Law to advance the registration system reform has arrived, but since the reform is not yet mature, this deadline needs to be extended by another two years.

　　At that time, the reason for authorizing the adjustment of applicable laws was simple: the stock issuance registration system reform conflicted with certain provisions of the current Securities Law. Before the Securities Law could be amended, only the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress could authorize the State Council to adjust the application of the Securities Law during the reform.

　　This proposed extension is because the last decision by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to authorize the adjustment of the applicable period was made on December 27, 2015, effective from March 1, 2016, with a two-year term. It will expire on February 28, 2018.

　　The direction of steadily advancing the registration system reform has not changed.

　　This application for extension means that the registration system reform is still progressing steadily.

　　But this does not mean that the registration system reform will be launched immediately.

　　For many years, there has been a call for registration system reform within the industry.

　　China's current stock issuance system is an approval system. This to some extent ensures the quality of listed companies but also brings problems such as high approval costs and low efficiency, and at times forced suspension of new stock issuance, causing a "dammed lake" of new stock issuance.

　　In November 2013, the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reform" passed at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee explicitly proposed advancing the stock issuance registration system reform.

　　This was the first time the registration system was written into the Party's documents.

　　Subsequently, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and other parties have been working hard to promote the reform.

　　"Implementing the stock issuance registration system reform" was also included as a work deployment in the 2015 government work report.

　　When the draft amendment to the Securities Law was submitted for first review in April 2015, it also explicitly canceled the stock issuance examination committee system, stipulating that for public stock issuance intending to be listed and traded on a stock exchange, the stock exchange is responsible for reviewing the completeness, consistency, and understandability of the registration documents.

　　Many people saw these as signals that the registration system reform was about to be implemented.

　　However, due to abnormal stock market fluctuations in 2015 and other internal and external changes, regulators and market participants realized that the registration system reform is not a matter of speed but needs to be advanced steadily.

　　In the 2016 and 2017 government work reports thereafter, the registration system was not mentioned.

　　In 2017, the second draft of the Securities Law also did not include any references to the registration system.

　　But this does not mean that the registration system reform has stalled.

　　It should be noted that the relevant statement in the "13th Five-Year Plan" outline is to "create conditions to implement the stock issuance registration system." In other words, the registration system is the direction, but the current conditions are not mature, and efforts must be made to create conditions to achieve it.

　　What has the China Securities Regulatory Commission done in the past two years to steadily advance the registration system reform?

　　In fact, the registration system cannot be achieved by simply amending one or two provisions; many supporting projects are also needed.

　　A market consensus is that the registration system reform is a systematic project that requires gradual and steady implementation.

　　"Supporting reforms require a considerable process and a long time. The registration system cannot be rushed alone," said Liu Shiyu, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, at a press conference early in his tenure.

　　So, what preparations have regulators and market participants made in the past two years?