The Malta Financial Services Authority (the "MFSA") and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the "CSRC") have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) to protect and promote the development of the securities markets by providing a framework for co operation, increased mutual understanding and the exchange of information, to the extent permitted by the laws and regulations in force in Malta and the People’s Republic of China. The agreement was signed in Malta by Prof Joe V. Bannister, Chairman of the MFSA, and Mr Shang Fulin, Chairman of the CSRC, during a short ceremony presided by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech. The CSRC is the state agency of the Securities Policy Committee of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China and is responsible for the supervision and regulation of national securities and futures markets in the China.