Chinese securities firms will start paying into a special fund set up to safeguard investors' interests in capital markets, sources with the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on Friday.

According to rules released by the CSRC on Thursday, a securities firm should pay a certain proportion of its income into a special fund. The money will be managed by a China securities investor protection fund company.

Founded in September 2005, the company is responsible for pooling, managing and using the protection fund.

The rules require the company to determine the amount a securities firm must contribute and submit it to the CSRC for approval. The amount is readjusted once a year in a range of 0.5 percent to five percent of a securities firm's income.

Securities trading commissions from the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses will also be used to fuel the fund, the sources said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2007)