Chinese charities to be banned from buying, selling stocks

BEIJING — China's charity organizations will be banned from directly buying and selling stocks, according to an interim guideline on managing charity organizations' investment activities released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

They will also be prohibited from directly purchasing commodities, financial derivatives, insurance and others.

Assets of the organizations that are funded by the government or unavailable for investment according to donation agreements must not be spent on investment, the guideline reads.

Based on the country's Charity Law, the guideline states that all profits of charity organizations gained via investment must be spent on charity-related initiatives.

Those that disobey the guideline will receive warnings from civil affairs departments, and will be urged to rectify the issue within a given time limit.

The guideline is set to take effect on Jan 1, 2019.