Feb 7 (Reuters) -
China has
replaced
the head of its securities regulator, state media said on Wednesday, after stocks sank to five-year lows amid a sputtering economy and persistent uncertainty over how the country's policymakers plan to stabilise financial markets and the shaky economy.
The cabinet removed Yi Huiman as the chairman of China's Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), replacing him with Wu Qing, a veteran securities regulator who had lead the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Here is what analysts said about the change:
TIM GRAF, HEAD OF EMEA MACRO STRATEGY AT STATE STREET, LONDON:
"As a knee-jerk reaction, I can see how this would be viewed as positive. But in addressing the well understood issues of the Chinese economy, it doesn't address anything at all."
XU TIANCHEN, SENIOR ECONOMIST AT THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT, BEIJING
"The selloff was clearly the last straw for Yi - it's not the first time China fired a CSRC chairman during a market rout. This change signals the leaders' willingness to turn the market around." (Reporting by London, Beijing and Shanghai newsrooms; compiled by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Kim Coghill)
