BEIJING ¨C Four years before Li Qiang gained notoriety as the force behind the two-month COVID-19 lockdown of Shanghai, the man set to become China¡¯s next premier worked quietly behind the scenes to drive a bold revamp of the megacity¡¯s sclerotic stock market.
Li¡¯s back-channeling ¡ª sources said he bypassed the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which lost some of its power under the new set-up ¡ª demonstrated what became a reputation for pragmatism as well as close ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In late 2018, Xi himself announced Shanghai¡¯s new tech-focused STAR Market as well as the pilot of a registration-based IPO system, reforms meant to entice China¡¯s hottest young firms to list locally rather than overseas.
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