38 bond issuers were penalized for information disclosure violations, with scrutiny extending to controlling shareholders and directors, supervisors, and senior executives.

38 bond issuers were penalized for information disclosure violations, with scrutiny extending to controlling shareholders and directors, supervisors, and senior executives.

Since the beginning of this year, information disclosure regulation in the bond market has become significantly stricter.

As of June 5, 38 bond issuers on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges have been subject to regulatory measures for violations of information disclosure laws and regulations.

From regulatory practice, the dual penalty mechanism of punishing both companies and responsible individuals is becoming the norm, with regulatory oversight extending continuously to controlling shareholders, actual controllers, and key executives.

This change means that bond market regulation is shifting from focusing on issuer responsibility to a more penetrative regulation of both persons and companies.

Information disclosure is the foundation of the credit bond market.

Compared to the stock market, bond investors rely more on the issuer's continuous, truthful, and complete disclosure of information to assess credit risk. Therefore, any deficiency or delay in information disclosure can directly affect market pricing and investor decisions.

From cases disclosed so far this year, violations have mainly focused on failure to disclose periodic reports on time, untimely disclosure of major matters, concealment of significant debt risk, and improper use of raised funds.

For example, due to the failure to promptly disclose several large overdue debts, CIFI Group was subject to regulatory measures by the Shanghai Securities Regulatory Bureau in March this year; the company and relevant responsible individuals simultaneously received warning letters.

In April, Greenland Holdings was ordered by the Shanghai Securities Regulatory Bureau to rectify mistakes for failing to disclose being listed as a dishonest person subject to enforcement and for not timely disclosing major losses. Meanwhile, former Chairman Zhang Yuliang, Chief Financial Officer Zhang Yun, and Information Disclosure Officer Wang Xiaodong were also issued warning letters.

In the most common area of periodic report violations in the bond market, the dual penalty for both persons and companies has also become standard regulatory practice.

This year, Gansu Gangtai Holdings was publicly censured for failing to disclose periodic reports on time, with the company and then-Chairman Deng Qingsheng both penalized.

It is worth noting that this accountability logic is not limited to the bond market.

Since the beginning of this year, the A-share market has also shown marked dual penalty features for information disclosure violations.

In May, Shuangliang Eco-Energy was found to have violated information disclosure laws for publishing misleading information about SpaceX overseas orders on its WeChat public account. As a result, the company and its controlling shareholder Shuangliang Group were each fined 4 million yuan; the board secretary and group brand manager were each fined 2.5 million yuan, with total penalties reaching 13 million yuan.

In the same month, Meihu Shares was also subject to regulatory scrutiny and measures against then-Chairman Xu Zhongqiu for publishing misleading information about embodied intelligence concepts.

In addition, Xinhuicheng was subject to regulatory interviews and warning letters issued to the company and several senior executives for failing to timely disclose related transactions.

From the regulatory logic, the core of dual investigation is to extend the responsibility chain from the legal entity to the actual decision-making level.

For a long time in the past, penalties for information disclosure violations in the capital market focused mainly on listed companies or bond issuers themselves, with part of the cost ultimately borne by the enterprise. However, in actual operations, whether, when, and how major issues are disclosed is often determined by controlling shareholders, actual controllers, and core management such as directors, supervisors, and senior executives.

Solely penalizing the company can easily result in a mismatch between responsibility and decision-making authority.

In recent years, with the implementation of the new Securities Law and the deepening of registration system reform, regulatory authorities have continuously strengthened restraint mechanisms for key personnel. Whether in the bond market or stock market, regulatory focus has gradually extended from company oversight to personnel oversight, reinforcing the performance responsibilities of controlling shareholders and key executives.

Compared to simply penalizing the company, holding actual responsible persons accountable more precisely can more effectively restrain information disclosure behavior and improve market transparency. As dual investigation becomes increasingly normalized, capital market information disclosure regulation is entering a more precise and penetrative new stage.

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