Research On Legal Issues Of Supervision Of Equity Crowdfunding Platform In China

Equity crowdfunding refers to a kind of financing behavior that financiers publish financing projects through the platform of equity crowdfunding and attract investors by means of equity returns.As a new financing mode,Equity crowdfunding plays an immeasurable role in alleviating the financing difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises and activating the vitality of private capital.Equity crowdfunding platform,as a link between investors and financiers,plays an important role in financing activities.Therefore,to build a scientific,reasonable and perfect legal system for the supervision of equity crowdfunding platform is the most important thing for the effective supervision of equity crowdfunding.At present,there are many gaps in the supervision system of equity crowdfunding platform in China.The definition of the nature and status of equity crowdfunding platform,its rights and obligations in the activities of equity crowdfunding are in a confused state,which is not conducive to the development of equity crowdfunding and the stability of capital market.Under the current legal framework of our country,because of the definition of public development banks in the Securities Law,public financing can only operate in the form of private placement,but its essence should belong to the behavior of public issuance of securities,which has the characteristics of network financing mode,the universality of financing subjects,the high efficiency and convenience of financing conditions,the coexistence of high risk and high return,and the complexity of financing risk.As a bridge between the two sides of equity financing and investment,equity crowdfunding platform is not only a broker who provides intermediary services,but also a supervisor who undertakes the functions of information audit,risk prevention and investor education.It has the characteristics of independence and neutrality of status,two-way information transmission and diversity of functions.The cases of platform disputes and the main points of court judgments show that there are still some legal difficulties in platform supervision in China,such as unclear access mechanism,difficult intermediary obligations to cover platform obligations,conflicts between platform responsibilities and interests,non-standard operation of funds,and the existence of platform self-financing behavior.The reason for the legal dilemma of platform supervision lies in the lack of platform supervision legislation and the inconsistency of judicial decisions.Equity crowdfunding platform is the core of equity crowdfunding.Platform and investment and financing parties constitute a kind of inter-agency contract relationship.Investors and financiers form an investment relationship.Funds trustees and investment and financing parties form a principal relationship.The legal relationship involved in the platform reflects the legal nature of the platform.Platform and stock exchange have different market functions and organizational characteristics,so the platform does not have the nature of stock exchange.The independence and neutrality of the platform determine that the platform can not provide investment advice and other suggestions.Therefore,the platform is fundamentally different from securities brokers.A securities company may engage in securities underwriting business upon approval.A securities underwriter is an intermediary agency for securities issuance and belongs to the securities issuing market.The basic functions of the platform and the underwriter are to realize the first transfer between the equity of the financier and the capital of the investor.Therefore,the platform has the essential characteristics of the securities company,but it is slightly different from the securities company in terms of its obligations and business scope.Therefore,the platform should be positioned as a special securities dealer.Equity crowdfunding essentially belongs to the public issuance of securities,and the platform belongs to the underwriter of securities issuance.Therefore,in order to improve the legal supervision of shareholder crowdfunding platform in China,we need to start from two aspects: on the one hand,eliminate the legal obstacles to the supervision of shareholder crowdfunding platform.At present,at the time of the revision of the Securities Law,we should expand the meaning of securities and bring stock ownership crowdfunding into the scope of securities.On this basis,we should build an exemption system for small public offerings to clarify the legal nature of the platform.On the other hand,we should establish specific legal rules for platform supervision.Clear platform access conditions,clarify the legal responsibilities of the platform,balance the responsibilities and interests of the platform.