SHANGHAI, Aug. 13 -- THE Shenzhen stock exchange said today it is planning to set up an internal disciplinary committee to decide on punishments for executives at member brokerages in case of rule and law violations.

The committee will comprise experts from the bourse's management and legal departments and will launch meetings periodically to determine whether to punish executives who breach rules, the exchange said in a statement.

Punishment results will be submitted to the China Securities Regulatory Commission for the watchdog's reference to classify the brokers' into different tiers for separate supervision, the statement said.

On China's mainland, brokerages that are in lower categories will be subject to business restrictions and will contribute more revenues to a securities investment protection fund.

``The new committee is expected to help boost efficiency in the exchange's oversight of members under a fair and open scenario,'' the statement said. ``Brokers should cooperate with the exchange to ensure market order and curb irregularities.''

The Shenzhen stock bourse in June started to limit trading of stock accounts suspected of irregularities and asked brokers to check their clients' identities to prevent market manipulation.

Today's statement said the exchange would also punish brokers that fail to correct and report misbehaviors by themselves or their clients in a timely manner.