The current lackluster performance of the stock market is putting pressure on the regulators to push ahead with market reform, a Shanghai-based financial expert told the Global Times Thursday.
The commission has paid close attention to the issue that a large number of retail investors have lost money due to the volatile and declining market, China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a statement on its website Wednesday.
"Protecting investors' interests should be the priority for the CSRC. However, the agency has put most of its efforts into initial public offering approvals instead," said Liu Shengjun, deputy director of the CEIBS Lujiazui International Finance Research Center.
While the Chinese economy saw a rapid growth last year, its stock market dropped by around 30 percent in 2011, the second worst performer in the world after debt-ridden Greece.
Retail investors were spooked by the market disorder last year, and they are very cautious now, buying today and selling tomorrow, said Beijing-based investor Henry Hao.
Only four types of people are making money under the current system - original investors, private equity investors, regulators who approve the IPOs, and inside traders, Liu said.
Ironically, "it is the retail investors from whom they are making the money," Liu noted.