By Jiahui Huang


China has issued new national-level guidelines aimed at addressing stock-market volatility, including tightening supervision of new listings.

The evaluation criteria for companies seeking to list in China will be enhanced, including requiring companies to disclose their dividend policy, the State Council said in a statement Friday.

Chinese authorities will also strengthen oversight of listed companies, including restricting majority shareholders from reducing their holdings in companies that haven't paid dividends for many years or have a low dividend payout ratio.

China has seen an outflow of foreign investment while Chinese equities have been on a prolonged decline as the world's second-largest economy grapples with slowing growth, a property-sector downturn and weak consumer sentiment. The benchmark CSI 300 index slid more than 11% in 2023 and is up 1.3% so far this year.

In February, the then-newly appointed head of China's securities regulator, Wu Qing, met with some market participants, including investors, foreign-funded institutions and private-equity firms, to solicit views on policies that could support the long-term development of the country's capital market.


Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-12-24 0444ET