In the first half of 2025, there has been a significant increase in regulatory efforts in the Chinese futures industry. Authorities across the country issued a total of 55 penalties to futures companies, more than double the 21 penalties issued during the same period in 2024, involving 34 futures companies.
Unlike the dominance of information technology risks in 2024, issues related to risk isolation in asset management business became a new area of frequent violations in 2025. Dongya Futures received severe penalties for its mismanagement in asset management business, including allowing non-company personnel to give trading instructions, chaotic personnel management, and repeated ineffectiveness in rectification. Shanghai Securities Regulatory Bureau suspended the firm from adding new asset management businesses for 12 months, marking the strictest penalty imposed within the year. The chairman, general manager, and other six senior executives of the company were held accountable simultaneously.
Listed on the New Third Board, Zijin Tianfeng Futures also received a warning letter along with its three senior executives due to irregular involvement in the investment operations of its asset management subsidiary by the research institute. It is noteworthy that the company’s information disclosure was found to be non-standard, with the contact information of the board secretary in the annual report being the phone number of the Human Resources Department.
According to a report by the Economic Daily, Shanghai Securities Regulatory Bureau issued 26 penalties, surpassing the total number of penalties issued nationwide during the same period last year, indicating the ongoing reinforcement of local regulatory efforts. Regional institutions such as Dongya Futures and Zijin Tianfeng Futures faced intensive penalties.
Several companies were penalized in traditional problem areas such as network information security, IT risks, internet marketing, and internal control compliance. Huajin Futures was ordered to correct its improper emergency handling of software failures; Tianjin Investment Futures Shanghai Branch, Jinxin Futures, and others were penalized for ineffective marketing control and misleading promotions.
Violations were also observed in futures companies under major brokerage firms. An employee of CITIC Futures received a warning letter for disclosing clients’ trade secrets; Guangda Futures was penalized for failing to conduct compliance assessments on external information systems accessed by clients. After being penalized last year, Ruida Futures, a A-share listed company, was issued a warning letter by the Xiamen Securities Regulatory Bureau in April this year due to internal control issues once again.