China's top securities regulator said to step down

The head of China’s securities regulator, Xiao Gang, is reportedly stepping down to be succeeded by the chairman of Agricultural Bank of China, Liu Shiyu.

The Wall Street Journal cited Chinese officials with knowledge of the matter as saying that an announcement of the change will be made “within days”.

The news comes just a month after the China Securities Regulatory Commission denied reports that Gang has offered his resignation.

Gang oversaw policies such as the “circuit breaker” mechanism – which was suspended after only a week – that stopped trade in a Chinese index for 15 minutes if it rose or fell 5%, or for the rest of the day if it declined by 7%.