(Yicai Global) Dec. 20 -- Drafted amendments to China's securities laws will heighten protection for investors and significantly increase the costs of violation, an official said today.

The rules will be particularly beneficial to smaller investors, said Yue Zhongming, spokesman for the Commission of Legislative Affairs under the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

The draft will undergo review by the NPC Standing Committee next week, according to a Dec. 16 Securities Times report.