USD 2.9 BILLION LOCKED UP SHARES TO HIT CHINESE MARKET

China's stock market is expected to see 18.31 billion yuan (USD 2.95 billion) in locked-up shares become eligible for trade next week, according to data from bourses. The figure was significantly down from the 40.9 billion yuan in shares that became tradable this week, data from the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges showed. A total of 1.83 billion non-tradable shares of 19 listed companies will be released to the capital market after their lock-up agreements expire next week, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today. Under China's market rules, major shareholders of non-tradable stocks are subject to one or two years of lock-up before they are permitted to trade the shares. Gansu Yasheng Industrial Co, an agricultural firm based in northwest China, will see non-tradable shares worth 1.36 billion yuan become tradable on Friday, the largest amount to become tradable on the Shanghai exchange next week. Some 5.28 billion yuan in non-tradable shares of the Chengdu Xingrong Investment Co, a sewage and garbage treatment firm, will be ready for trade tomorrow, the largest amount on the Shenzhen exchange next week. Of the companies, 11 will see shares unlocked tomorrow, with their combined value accounting for 82.83 per cent of next week's total unlocked market size.