China has issued long-awaited guidelines for the sale of non-tradeable state-owned shares in listed companies, according to a statement on the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) Web site.
The rules, which take effect immediately, will allow a small number of companies to take part in a trial program of state share-sales.
The CSRC and two-thirds of public shareholders will have to approve the conversion of state shares into publicly traded stock.
Buyers of state shares will not be able to sell them again for a year and after that will be restricted to sales of a maximum of 5 percent of a company's equity in each 12-month period.
Under the new rules, future initial public offerings (IPOs) will no longer have a non-tradeable share portion and individual listed companies will be able to decide on how the state shares are sold.
The CSRC said that state shares are "a big obstacle" to improving China's stock market and that the issue must be resolved in a "proper manner."
Non-tradeable state shares in more than 1,200 listed companies account for 66 percent of a 3.52 trillion yuan (US$424 billion) market capitalization.
The CSRC said it will select companies to participate in the trial program after considering the opinions of shareholders and the recommendations of listed companies' sponsors.
It added that the sale of state shares can only happen when "the market conditions are ripe" and IPO prices are stable.
The issue has dogged the stock market for years after initial plans to sell the state-owned shares sparked near panic among investors.
The authorities suspended the plan in 2001 but the stock market has never fully regained its footing and shares currently languish at six-year lows.
The markets are closed this week for a national holiday.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique