Lock-up shares worth $2.6b eligible for trade

Lock-up shares worth about 17.9 billion yuan ($2.6 billion) will become eligible for trading on China’s bourses this week.

More than 1.78 billion shares will become tradable on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from Monday to Friday, according to information service provider Wind Info. In the previous week, 3.9 billion shares worth 38 billion yuan became tradable.

Jiangsu Yabaite Technology will contribute the largest amount of lock-up shares, with some 423 million becoming tradable on Monday.

Under China’s market rules, major shareholders must wait for one to two years before they are permitted to sell their shares.

Chinese stocks declined Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 1 percent to 2,740.44. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 2.03 percent lower at 8,602.12.

Also this week, 22 companies will make their debuts on China’s National Equities Exchange and Quotations, also known as the “New Third Board” for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

With the newcomers, the total number of companies on the board will reach 11,091, according to the exchange.

Last week, turnover on the board stood at 1.52 billion yuan, down 16.21 percent from the previous week.

The “New Third Board” was launched in early 2013 and it is seen as an easier financing channel for small businesses, with low costs and simple listing procedures.