Train to be certified stockbroker

STOCKBROKERS will have to undergo training and be certified under a new rule that seeks to protect investors, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has said.

Brokers must receive at least 60 hours of training from the securities houses that they sign contracts with and be properly certified before they are allowed to trade for their clients, the commission said on its Website on Monday. The work contracts must be registered with the Securities Association of China, according to the new rule which will take effect on April 13.

By the end of October, there were 80,000 stockbrokers in China and only 30,000 were certified, the regulator said.

The brokers can help their clients with procedures to open accounts and make them aware of trading, regulations, and investment-related information of the brokerages they work for, the new rule said.

But they are banned from opening or canceling trading accounts for clients, transferring clients' cash, sharing clients' investment incomes and going to rival brokerages to poach clients under the new rule. They can't give false or misleading information to clients, ask them to conduct inappropriate investments and leak clients' information.