May. 7 (NBD) -- China’s securities regulator on Sunday slapped a 86-million-yuan (13.5-million-U.S. dollars) fine on a TV anchor for stock manipulation, according to the announcement of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

The 48-year-old Liao Yingqiang had illegally gained 43 million yuan (6.8 million U.S. dollars) by manipulating 39 stocks. The illegal income was confiscated as well.

Liao served as a guest anchor of a finance TV program called Money Talk from February 2012 to April 2016. The program earned a higher rating than other similar programs aired during the same period of time in Shanghai.

Liao is also a shareholder of a Shanghai-based company which spreads videos stock analysis videos via website iguxuan.com. By marketing and hosting a string of lectures, Liao's company built its presence and Liao attracted fans, according to the CSRC announcement. It's noticed that Liao’s personal Sina Weibo account has 150,000 followers.

By exploiting his personal influence, from March to November of 2015, Liao manipulated altogether 39 stocks. The usual practice was to buy in certain stocks, recommend them to investors, and immediately sell off those stocks afterwards. 

According to the CSRC announcement, Liao managed 12 stock accounts, 11 of which were under others' names. The CSRC presented the evidence that the MAC address of those 11 accounts were identical to Liao's own account and there were money transfers between those accounts and the bank accounts of Liao or Liao's wife.

This is a typical scalping trading where securities companies, stock consultancy agencies, professional trading agencies and related working staff make public predictions and investment suggestions on stocks and profit from price changes.

This is not the first penalty that has imposed on such practice. Last year, CSRC chairman Liu Shiyu criticized such stock manipulating practice.

An unnamed private equity manager told NBD that stock analysis TV programs have been an important channel for investors to obtain trading information, but it’s hard to regulate so many anchors and record their illegal stock transactions, if any. The manager called for securities practioners to abide by professional ethics when making investment comments in public.

 

Email: tanyuhan@nbd.com.cn

Editor: Tan Yuhan