BEIJING, June 6 -- The Shanghai Stock Exchange, seeking to improve the quality of its listed companies, will require them to evaluate their own internal management in their annual reports, starting with reports for this year.

    Each company must also set up a department in charge of improving administrative matters, such as risk control and information disclosure, the exchange said in its first rules for internal corporate management.

    The rules, published in domestic securities industry newspapers yesterday, require companies immediately to issue statements to disclose any major risks faced in their management.

    Regulators have this year stepped up a campaign to improve corporate governance and last month published regulations for initial public offerings, such as requiring firms planning initial public offerings (IPOs) to have three straight years of profits.

    In another development, the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued guidelines on IPOs Friday to standardize procedures following the resumption of IPOs.

    The guidelines list the required materials that must be submitted with listing applications, including approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, a listing prospectus, and an auditor's report.

    Companies planning to list on a domestic exchange should publish the prospectus at least one day before the share subscription date, according to the guidelines posted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Web site.

    The company should publish the subscription results three days after the share subscription date, the exchange said.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)