The head of China’s securities regulator signalled at the weekend he would not countenance listed firms acting as “iron cockerels” – that is, not paying out dividends to investors.
Liu Shiyu, chair of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, rattled off a laundry list of warnings and advice on Saturday at a meeting of the China Association for Public Companies – including an admonition against failing to pay out dividends.
“There are companies that listed in 1994 and still haven’t paid out dividends,” Mr Liu said, according to state news outlet Xinhua, which framed his warning as targeting companies that act like “iron cockerels” – a Chinese phrase for cheapskates.