Singaporean investors demand tougher rules on fraudulent Chinese companies

Singapore’s investors are looking to tougher rules to prosecute fraudulent mainland Chinese companies listed on the city-state’s exchange, Bloomberg reported. Singapore has been especially hard-hit by Chinese firms with dubious accounting: More than 10% of Chinese companies have been delisted or suspended since 2008. “We can’t afford to have another scandal and let investor confidence wane further,” said David Gerald, president of the Securities Investors Association (Singapore). The group may be seeking tougher rules for Singapore-listed mainland firms, but many investors point out that Singaporean authorities lack jurisdiction in China to enforce their rules. Some 152 China-based companies were listed in Singapore at the end of June. The FTSE Strait Times China Index has lost 11% so far this year, compared with a 1.3% decline in the broader Strait Times Index.