The General Office of the People's Government of Sichuan Province recently issued the Measures of Sichuan Province for the Supervision and Administration of Trading Floors (Trial), providing detailed provisions on the establishment, operation and supervision of trading floors for the first time. The Measures has stipulated that trading floors shall establish archives management systems for materials like trading records and settlement data, and the shelf life shall not be less than 20 years.

　　Strict procedures has been set for the establishment of trading floors. In terms of the title, "exchange" or "exchange center" shall be adopted; in terms of the structure, corporate system shall be adopted with a registered capital no less than RMB 200 million, and the general manager should have more than three years of working experience on the trading floor. Trading is the core function of a trading floor. The Measures requires that the trading rules of trading floors should include the sources, criteria and duration of trading categories, trading methods and trading procedures, charging standards and charging methods, etc.

　　In terms of operation management, Sichuan has set many restrictions for trading floors: shareholders of a trading floor may not pledge their equity or establish a trust; registered capital shall not be provided directly or indirectly to the shareholders, actual controllers or other related parties of the trading floor; registered capital shall not be used for high-risk wealth management projects and monetary lever shall be provided to traders; except for legal query, no investor  information or trading information shall be provided to the third party.

　　Sichuan requires the local financial authorities to be responsible for the unified supervision and management of the trading floors, and specifically perform the duties of formulating regulatory systems and measures, organizing the inspection and supervision, and imposing administrative penalties in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

　　How to deal with illegal acts on trading floors? The Measures stipulates that local financial authorities shall first order parties concerned to make corrections within a time limit, and may admonish the shareholders, directors, supervisors and senior administrative staff of the trading floor; for cases failing to make corrections within the time limit or failing to make the inadequate corrections, regulatory measures such as issuing warning letters, suspending relevant businesses, and prohibiting setting up new trading categories could be taken; for cases of gross violation, reporting to the provincial government for abolition of trading floor qualification in accordance with laws and regulations shall be adopted; cases suspected of committing crimes shall be transferred to judicial organs for handling according to law.

　　The Measures will come into force on February 1, 2020, and be valid for two years. Trading floors established before the implementation of the Measures shall be regulated in accordance with the Measures within one year after its implementation.