China securities regulator had no direct contact with top executives at HK brokerages

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's securities regulator said on Friday it had not directly contacted top executives of mainland-based financial institutions in Hong Kong, although it was normal to reach out to "relevant parties" during an investigation.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) appeared to be referring to a Reuters report earlier on Friday.

That report quoted sources at brokerages in Hong Kong and Singapore who said they had received calls requesting stock trading records related to investors taking short positions via stock index futures, and by shorting offshore exchange traded funds tracking Chinese stocks.

The spokesman denied unnamed media reports that CSRC had held meetings with brokerages in Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

In an online question and answer session posted on its website after the news conference, the CSRC also denied unnamed media reports that Chinese brokerage heads in Hong Kong had been called for meetings with regulators in Beijing and Guangzhou.

(Reporting by Zhang Xiaochong and Pete Sweeney; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)