China securities regulator chairman condemns "barbaric" company buy-outs by asset managers

BEIJING (Reuters) - The chairman of China's securities regulator condemned "barbaric" leveraged company buy-outs by some asset managers using illegal funds, according to a statement posted on the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) website on Saturday.

"You've ultimately become a robber in the industry, and that is unacceptable," CSRC chairman Liu Shiyu said during his strong-worded speech at a meeting held by the Asset Management Association of China.

Liu said China's capital markets had seen a series of "abnormal phenomena" lately, challenging the bottom line of China's financial law and regulations.

"That is not financial innovation," Liu said.

In a commentary responding to Liu's comments on Saturday, financial magazine Yicai said the CSRC might have already collected evidence of illegal insurance funds used in some buy-out deals via tender offers or banner acquisitions, citing unnamed sources in the industry.

(Reporting by Yawen Chen, Samuel Shen and John Ruwitch; Editing by Nick Macfie)