Red chips may return in July
By Song Hongmei (chinadaily.com.cn)Updated: 2007-06-14 09:52
China's securities regulator is currently soliciting views from market players on drafting rules that allow Chinese firms incorporated overseas to float shares domestically in an attempt to boost the market's size and quality, the Shanghai Securities News reported Wednesday.
The drafting rules may come into effect on July 1 and some red-chip firms -- incorporated and listed in Hong Kong but controlled by Chinese mainland shareholders -- may be the first to use the new rules to list on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges in July, the newspaper quoted an unnamed industry source as saying.
Currently, there are worries that the mainland stock markets are overheated as the key Shanghai index has more than tripled since the beginning of 2006. And China's brokerage accounts topped 100 million for the first time with more than 25 million accounts opened at brokerages so far this year, five times the amount in all of 2006, according to China Securities Depository & Clearing Corp, the country's clearing house.
"Red-chip listings will cater to the demands of the China Securities Regulatory Commission in preventing the market from spinning out of control as a greater supply of stocks could help curb speculation and cool down the heat to some extent," said the source.
According to the rules, a red chip firm has to be listed in Hong Kong for more than a year with a market capitalization of at least HK$20 billion (US$2.56 billion), and a cumulative net income of at least HK$2 billion in the last three accounting years.
Moreover, at least 50 percent of listing candidates' operating assets or earnings must come from the Chinese mainland.
Of the 93 red chips, 21 firms would be eligible for listing under those criteria, all of which are large State-owned enterprises, the newspaper reported.
Top global wireless firm China Mobile is ranked first by market value. Previous reports said that China Mobile was likely to list first domestically, as well as wireless carrier China Unicom, computer maker Lenovo Group and oil company CNOOC.
Both the regulator and investors expect large-cap red chips such as China Mobile to "return home" as it would improve the quality of the stock market as well as management of large State-owned enterprises. On the other hand, mainland investors would be keen in sharing the achievements made by large State-owned enterprises like China Mobile, the source said.
The source added that those criteria listed among the drafting rules are quite high for red chips.
Under the normal process, market players would consider and offer feedback to regulators on the draft of regulations over the coming months, though the securities regulator would have the final say.
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