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It was reported that the regulator has approved US bank Citigroup Inc to set up a joint-venture securities firm in China.
Analysts said that the acceleration in approving the launch of joint-venture securities firms is part of the regulator's preparation for the long-awaited international board in Shanghai. The board will allow overseas companies to raise capital in the A-share market.
"The board failed to debut in 2011 due to global turbulence," Banny Lam, economist with CCB International Securities Ltd, said. "I believe the board will be launched in the second half of this year when the global economy should improve."
At the annual conference, Guo also called for a greater role for long-term institutional investors such as pension and public housing funds in investing in the country's stock market which fell more than 20 percent in 2011.
Institutional investors in the Chinese stock market only hold 15.6 percent of stocks, according to the regulator. The ratio is much lower than that for developed countries.
Lam said that facilitating long-term funds into the securities market will generate returns and stabilize the market as they are less prone to wild fluctuations.