China will tighten1 its crackdown on illegal fundraising to protect people's interests and fend2 off systemic risks, the Office of the Inter-agency Anti-illegal Fundraising Taskforce said on Tuesday.
跨机构反非法融资工作组办公室周二表示，中国将加紧对非法融资的打击力度以保护人民利益防范系统性风险。
China saw 5,197 illegal fundraising cases in 2016, involving 251.1 billion yuan (36.5 billion U.S. dollars), down 14.48 percent and 0.11 percent year on year, respectively, according to the office.
It is the first time for both figures to decline, showing that the rising trend of illegal fundraising in past years has been contained, said Yang Yuzhu, head of the office.
However, Yang
noted3 that the overall situation of illegal fundraising is still complicated and severe, highlighted by an increase in organized crime, online fraud and cross-regional crime.
China will strengthen
supervision4 of intermediaries in private financing, enhance crackdown efforts against fraudulent advertisements and improve the legal system to guard against illegal financing, said Yang.
Key fields including online lending, private wealth management, rural cooperatives and private
equity5 will be under greater regulatory
scrutiny6, Yang added.
Internet finance has grown fast in China in the past few years, as
investors7 seek higher returns than bank deposits while small businesses find it easier to secure funds through online
brokers8. But risks have piled up too as regulations cannot keep up with the sector's development.
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